Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,960,000 shares, a decline of 7.0% from the November 15th total of 4,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 528,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hyatt Hotels

In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider Mark R. Vondrasek sold 3,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total value of $604,122.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $927,622.02. This represents a 39.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 23.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hyatt Hotels

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hyatt Hotels in the second quarter worth $30,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new position in shares of Hyatt Hotels during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 190.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 1,107.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 338 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Hyatt Hotels in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.54% of the company’s stock.

Hyatt Hotels Price Performance

Shares of H stock traded up $0.99 during trading on Monday, hitting $159.98. The company had a trading volume of 508,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 585,576. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $154.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Hyatt Hotels has a 52 week low of $124.40 and a 52 week high of $168.20.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 20.55%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 22nd. Hyatt Hotels’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

H has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Cfra set a $155.00 price target on Hyatt Hotels in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $185.00 to $178.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $151.00 to $167.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hyatt Hotels currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.88.

About Hyatt Hotels

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.