DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

DiamondRock Hospitality Company (NYSE:DRH) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $12.00 to $13.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. DiamondRock Hospitality traded as high as $13.05 and last traded at $12.90, with a volume of 2397795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $12.97.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on DRH. Stifel Nicolaus set a $12.25 price target on DiamondRock Hospitality in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their target price on DiamondRock Hospitality from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $9.60 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, DiamondRock Hospitality presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kathleen Merrill sold 20,000 shares of DiamondRock Hospitality stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.88, for a total transaction of $237,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 84,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,899.80. The trade was a 19.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael A. Hartmeier sold 20,000 shares of DiamondRock Hospitality stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $10.46, for a total transaction of $209,200.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 95,354 shares in the company, valued at $997,402.84. This trade represents a 17.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of DiamondRock Hospitality

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRH. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 0.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,587,578 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,400,000 after buying an additional 93,929 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,231,991 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $70,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377,897 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 9,152,343 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,853,000 after acquiring an additional 475,611 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its position in DiamondRock Hospitality by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,780,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $69,718,000 after acquiring an additional 244,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new stake in DiamondRock Hospitality during the 4th quarter worth $59,231,000.

DiamondRock Hospitality Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $10.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.98.

DiamondRock Hospitality Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. DiamondRock Hospitality’s payout ratio is 76.60%.

About DiamondRock Hospitality

DiamondRock Hospitality Company is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of upscale, full-service hotels in urban gateway markets across the United States. Established in 2004 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, the company focuses on investing in high-quality lodging properties that cater to both business and leisure travelers. Its assets are positioned in key metropolitan areas, enabling DiamondRock to benefit from strong demand drivers such as corporate travel, group conventions and resort leisure stays.

The company’s portfolio includes full-service hotels offering a broad range of amenities, including guest rooms, on-site food and beverage outlets, meeting and event space, fitness centers and spa services.