Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) Upgraded to “Hold” by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $104.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Mizuho initiated coverage on Hyatt Hotels in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a buy rating and a $197.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered Hyatt Hotels from a buy rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $120.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $138.24.

Hyatt Hotels Price Performance

Hyatt Hotels stock opened at $159.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.25, a PEG ratio of 22.91 and a beta of 1.49. Hyatt Hotels has a 1 year low of $96.77 and a 1 year high of $161.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $144.24 and a 200-day moving average of $125.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a return on equity of 7.59% and a net margin of 3.30%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.25 EPS for the current year.

Hyatt Hotels Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Hyatt Hotels’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Margaret C. Egan sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total transaction of $157,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,241,747.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider Joan Bottarini sold 4,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $547,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,301 shares in the company, valued at $1,454,664.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 owns 20,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,241,747.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,144,504 shares of company stock worth $333,945,183 in the last ninety days. 21.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hyatt Hotels

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,469,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,847,000 after acquiring an additional 37,317 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,405,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,673,000 after purchasing an additional 148,804 shares during the period. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 196.2% during the first quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 2,206,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,697,000 after purchasing an additional 1,461,693 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 1.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,194,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,836,000 after purchasing an additional 24,121 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 14.6% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,168,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,412,000 after purchasing an additional 275,503 shares during the period. 71.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.