VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Acquires 6,900 Shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts $WH

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,900 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,900 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts were worth $855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WH. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 94.3% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 2,313 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 15.5% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 90.5% during the 3rd quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 4,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of WH stock opened at $77.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.69, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.67 and a 200-day moving average of $77.83. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a 52-week low of $66.87 and a 52-week high of $90.35. The stock has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.64.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.11. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 77.43%. The firm had revenue of $410.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $408.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, September 29th that permits the company to repurchase $400 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is 63.94%.

Insider Transactions at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

In other Wyndham Hotels & Resorts news, CEO Geoffrey Ballotti sold 19,414 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.71, for a total value of $1,411,591.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 549,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,941,275.33. The trade was a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on WH shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Freedom Broker assumed coverage on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $97.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $100.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.67.

About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a global hotel franchising company that operates an asset-light lodging business. Rather than owning and managing most of its hotels, the company licenses its brands and provides franchisees with support in areas such as marketing, reservations, technology, training and operational standards.

Its portfolio includes a range of economy, midscale and upscale hotel brands, including Super 8, Days Inn, Ramada, La Quinta, Microtel, Baymont, Wingate, AmericInn, Wyndham, Wyndham Garden, Registry Collection Hotels and ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham.