Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Global Business Travel Group, Inc. (NYSE:GBTG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Global Business Travel Group, Inc. (NYSE:GBTG) by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,337 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,961 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Global Business Travel Group were worth $87,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GBTG. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Global Business Travel Group by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,339,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,993,000 after acquiring an additional 386,636 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Global Business Travel Group by 21.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,946,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,972,000 after purchasing an additional 346,540 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Global Business Travel Group by 1,116.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,007,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,652,000 after purchasing an additional 925,018 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Global Business Travel Group by 41.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 806,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,202,000 after buying an additional 237,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Global Business Travel Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,077,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.46% of the company’s stock.

Global Business Travel Group Stock Performance

NYSE:GBTG opened at $8.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of -24.67 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $9.01 and its 200 day moving average is $7.74. Global Business Travel Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.49 and a fifty-two week high of $9.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 1.56.

Global Business Travel Group (NYSE:GBTG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by ($0.14). Global Business Travel Group had a negative net margin of 7.06% and a negative return on equity of 9.70%. The firm had revenue of $597.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $611.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.02) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Global Business Travel Group, Inc. will post -0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Global Business Travel Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to buyback $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 8.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GBTG shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Global Business Travel Group from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Global Business Travel Group from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Global Business Travel Group in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $11.00 price objective for the company.

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.