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 report issued on Monday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hyatt Hotels from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $116.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $146.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI restated an in-line rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $143.19.

Hyatt Hotels Price Performance

Hyatt Hotels stock opened at $152.23 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $154.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.51. Hyatt Hotels has a 12-month low of $96.77 and a 12-month high of $161.50. The stock has a market cap of $15.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.62, a PEG ratio of 21.47 and a beta of 1.49.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a net margin of 3.30% and a return on equity of 7.59%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Hyatt Hotels’s payout ratio is currently 29.41%.

Insider Transactions at Hyatt Hotels

In other news, insider Mark Samuel Hoplamazian sold 75,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.47, for a total value of $11,957,670.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 459,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,737,730. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Mark Samuel Hoplamazian sold 75,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.47, for a total value of $11,957,670.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 459,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,737,730. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Margaret C. Egan sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total value of $157,780.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,241,747.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,084,248 shares of company stock valued at $326,572,489. Corporate insiders own 23.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hyatt Hotels

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in H. New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels during the fourth quarter worth about $1,472,000. Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 49,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Hyatt Hotels by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,256,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,367,000 after buying an additional 11,041 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System purchased a new position in Hyatt Hotels during the fourth quarter worth about $1,382,000. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 8,771.9% in the 4th quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 5,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.02% of the company’s stock.

Hyatt Hotels Company Profile

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.