5 Leisure and Recreation Services Stocks to Buy

2. Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83

Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) is well-known in the leisure and recreation services industry as it operates Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, and other platforms. In Q4 of 2023, 83 hedge funds had stakes in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), with total positions worth $10.269 billion. As of the fourth quarter of 2023, Fisher Asset Management is the most significant shareholder in the company with a stake worth $1.336 billion.

On April 3, B. Riley initiated coverage of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) with a Buy rating and a $4,400 price target.

Wedgewood Partners stated the following regarding Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:

“Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) contributed negatively to relative performance. The Company grew bookings on their platforms +16% and reported +22% growth in adjusted operating income during their fourth quarter of 2023. We think the market is cautious about the Company’s results for 2024 because they will be lapping very high levels of growth compared to those in 2023 (full year 2023 bookings growth +24%). However, Booking’s end markets continue to be quite healthy, outside of geographies affected by war because consumers still have plenty of wallet share to re-dedicate to travel compared to pre-COVID-19 numbers. We applaud the Company as they aggressively repurchase shares at valuation levels well below the market and peers. This should serve to compound our ownership in Booking’s business, which has exceptional pro2itability.”