Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 843,121 Shares of Hyatt Hotels Corporation $H

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) by 21.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,715,085 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 843,121 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hyatt Hotels were worth $669,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in H. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Hyatt Hotels by 7.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 426,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,229,000 after acquiring an additional 29,976 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 8.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 143,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,556,000 after purchasing an additional 11,252 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hyatt Hotels in the 2nd quarter worth about $308,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,023,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 14,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,039,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Hyatt Hotels from $159.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $203.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Hyatt Hotels in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $154.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hyatt Hotels presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.06.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Performance

Hyatt Hotels stock opened at $156.13 on Friday. Hyatt Hotels Corporation has a 1-year low of $102.43 and a 1-year high of $174.58. The firm has a market cap of $14.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -167.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $163.08 and a 200-day moving average of $151.02.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.79). The business had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a negative net margin of 1.27% and a positive return on equity of 3.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Hyatt Hotels Corporation will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Hyatt Hotels Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Hyatt Hotels’s payout ratio is -64.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hyatt Hotels

In related news, insider David Udell sold 4,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $713,800.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 13,746 shares in the company, valued at $2,281,836. The trade was a 23.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Javier Aguila sold 9,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.87, for a total transaction of $1,583,726.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 2,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,195.08. This trade represents a 78.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,383 shares of company stock valued at $5,321,682. 23.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.