Global Business Travel Group (NYSE:GBTG) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Shares of Global Business Travel Group, Inc. (NYSE:GBTG) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $7.68, but opened at $7.00. Global Business Travel Group shares last traded at $7.50, with a volume of 50,442 shares trading hands.

The company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $597.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $611.89 million. Global Business Travel Group had a negative return on equity of 1.26% and a negative net margin of 1.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.02) EPS.

Global Business Travel Group announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GBTG shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Global Business Travel Group from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Global Business Travel Group from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Global Business Travel Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GBTG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Global Business Travel Group by 1,116.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,007,861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,652,000 after purchasing an additional 925,018 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Global Business Travel Group during the 1st quarter worth about $3,383,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Global Business Travel Group by 419.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 143,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,000 after buying an additional 116,175 shares during the last quarter. Ionic Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Global Business Travel Group by 480.1% during the 1st quarter. Ionic Capital Management LLC now owns 131,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 108,619 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Global Business Travel Group by 595.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 114,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 98,213 shares during the last quarter. 82.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Global Business Travel Group Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -83.35 and a beta of 0.63.

About Global Business Travel Group

Global Business Travel Group, Inc provides business-to-business (B2B) travel platform in the United States and internationally. The company's platform offers a suite of technology-enabled solutions to business travelers and clients; travel content suppliers, such as airlines, hotels, ground transportation, and aggregators; and third-party travel agencies.