Short Interest in Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H) Declines By 10.3%

Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,510,000 shares, a decrease of 10.3% from the October 15th total of 5,030,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 528,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hyatt Hotels

In related news, insider Mark Samuel Hoplamazian sold 51,388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.77, for a total transaction of $7,696,380.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 623,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,389,982.12. This trade represents a 7.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 23.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hyatt Hotels

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of H. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,214,000 after purchasing an additional 7,440 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 45,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,946,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. 71.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE H traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $152.68. 525,010 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 586,531. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Hyatt Hotels has a 1 year low of $112.85 and a 1 year high of $162.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.20. The stock has a market cap of $14.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.50.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a net margin of 20.55% and a return on equity of 10.74%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Hyatt Hotels’s payout ratio is 4.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on Hyatt Hotels from $151.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Susquehanna cut their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $160.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Hyatt Hotels from $157.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Hyatt Hotels from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.57.

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.