Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $162.27 and last traded at $161.85, with a volume of 528755 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $158.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on H shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Hyatt Hotels from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Hyatt Hotels to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $120.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $160.00 to $153.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $151.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.88.

Hyatt Hotels Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $154.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.50.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 20.55%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Hyatt Hotels Co. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. Hyatt Hotels’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hyatt Hotels

In related news, insider Mark R. Vondrasek sold 3,776 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 5,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $927,622.02. This trade represents a 39.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 23.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in H. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 0.4% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 15,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 4,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $738,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 17,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,601,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 0.8% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 12,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.02% of the company’s stock.

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.