Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) Lifted to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on H. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $95.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $116.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $104.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. TheStreet upgraded shares of Hyatt Hotels from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $119.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $138.24.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE H opened at $159.62 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a PE ratio of 78.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 22.91 and a beta of 1.49. Hyatt Hotels has a 12 month low of $96.77 and a 12 month high of $161.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.07.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.26. Hyatt Hotels had a net margin of 3.30% and a return on equity of 7.59%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Hyatt Hotels’s payout ratio is currently 29.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hyatt Hotels news, major shareholder F.L.P. Trust #14 sold 1,283,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.96, for a total value of $200,096,680.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hyatt Hotels news, major shareholder F.L.P. Trust #14 sold 1,283,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.96, for a total value of $200,096,680.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joan Bottarini sold 4,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $547,060.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,454,664.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,144,504 shares of company stock valued at $333,945,183 over the last 90 days. 21.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hyatt Hotels

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 340.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,033,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571,739 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 196.2% in the 1st quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,206,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,693 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 4,359.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 981,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,465,000 after purchasing an additional 959,519 shares during the period. Sculptor Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 136.3% in the 1st quarter. Sculptor Capital LP now owns 1,449,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,319,000 after purchasing an additional 835,982 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hyatt Hotels in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,934,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.02% of the company’s stock.

About Hyatt Hotels

Hyatt Hotels Corporation operates as a hospitality company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Owned and Leased Hotels, Americas Management and Franchising, ASPAC Management and Franchising, EAME Management and Franchising, and Apple Leisure Group segments. The company manages, franchises, licenses, owns, and leases portfolio of properties, consisting of full-service hotels and resorts, select service hotels, and other properties, including timeshare, fractional, residential, vacation, and condominium units.