Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 379,722 Playa Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:PLYA)

Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:PLYA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 379,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,285,000. Playa Hotels & Resorts comprises about 2.1% of Halter Ferguson Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.28% of Playa Hotels & Resorts as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Group LLC now owns 348,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,012,000 after purchasing an additional 25,133 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new position in Playa Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter worth approximately $93,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Playa Hotels & Resorts by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,482,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,727,000 after acquiring an additional 82,630 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Playa Hotels & Resorts by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,008,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,720,000 after acquiring an additional 99,649 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Playa Hotels & Resorts by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 60,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 9,139 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.58% of the company’s stock.

Playa Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLYA traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $8.44. 690,085 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 638,139. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.62. The company has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.26, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. Playa Hotels & Resorts has a 12-month low of $6.88 and a 12-month high of $9.85.

Playa Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:PLYA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.06. Playa Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 6.52%. The business had revenue of $300.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Playa Hotels & Resorts will post 0.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Playa Hotels & Resorts news, CAO Brandon B. Buhler sold 35,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $324,671.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 102,598 shares in the company, valued at approximately $927,485.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Brandon B. Buhler sold 35,915 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.04, for a total value of $324,671.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 102,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $927,485.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Karl Mr. Peterson sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total value of $47,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,534,033 shares in the company, valued at $23,946,611.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,915 shares of company stock worth $604,222 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on Playa Hotels & Resorts from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Playa Hotels & Resorts from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 9th.

Playa Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V., together with its subsidiaries, owns, develops, and operates resorts in prime beachfront locations in Mexico and the Caribbean. It owns and manages Hyatt Zilara Cancún, Hyatt Ziva Cancún, Wyndham Alltra Cancún, Wyndham Alltra Playa del Carmen, Hilton Playa del Carmen All-Inclusive Resort, Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta, and Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos located in Mexico; Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall, Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall, Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa, and Jewel Paradise Cove Beach Resort & Spa situated in Jamaica; the Hilton La Romana All-Inclusive Family Resort, the Hilton La Romana All-Inclusive Adult Resort, Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana, Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana, and Jewel Palm Beach located in the Dominican Republic; and manages resorts on behalf of third-party owners.