Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) Given New $194.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $168.00 to $194.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.01% from the stock’s current price.

H has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Hyatt Hotels in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $154.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Hyatt Hotels in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $203.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.13.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Down 0.6%

H stock traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $168.68. The company had a trading volume of 161,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 671,954. The company has a market capitalization of $16.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -181.22, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.29. Hyatt Hotels has a 52 week low of $102.43 and a 52 week high of $174.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.79). Hyatt Hotels had a positive return on equity of 3.22% and a negative net margin of 1.27%.The company had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider Peter Sears sold 12,394 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.51, for a total transaction of $1,927,390.94. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,922.94. The trade was a 68.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Javier Aguila sold 9,548 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total value of $1,583,726.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,195.08. The trade was a 78.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,383 shares of company stock valued at $5,321,682. 23.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in H. Bamco Inc. NY raised its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 6,116,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $868,139,000 after buying an additional 161,461 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 21.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,715,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,221,000 after acquiring an additional 843,121 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 7.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,159,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,437,000 after purchasing an additional 211,112 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 24.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,765,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,548,000 after purchasing an additional 545,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 15.8% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,421,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,814,000 after purchasing an additional 193,530 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.54% of the company’s stock.

About Hyatt Hotels

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) is a global hospitality company that develops, owns, manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts and vacation properties. Its portfolio spans a range of price points and styles under brands such as Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Andaz, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Centric, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Thompson Hotels, Alila and Destination by Hyatt. In addition to accommodations, the company provides meeting and event spaces, food and beverage outlets, spa and wellness centers, and a variety of guest services designed to cater to both leisure and business travelers.

Hyatt’s business model combines property ownership, management contracts and third-party franchising.