Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $112.68, but opened at $121.12. Hyatt Hotels shares last traded at $118.63, with a volume of 70,419 shares trading hands.

The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.16. Hyatt Hotels had a return on equity of 9.81% and a net margin of 19.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.71 earnings per share.

Hyatt Hotels Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Hyatt Hotels’s payout ratio is 4.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

H has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Hyatt Hotels from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Macquarie dropped their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kinsey Wolf sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.95, for a total transaction of $122,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,712.45. This trade represents a 55.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan D. Kronick sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.78, for a total value of $226,848.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 37,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,377,290.06. This represents a 4.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,600 shares of company stock worth $1,517,798. Corporate insiders own 23.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hyatt Hotels

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Hyatt Hotels during the 4th quarter worth about $77,136,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Hyatt Hotels by 241.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 679,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,677,000 after purchasing an additional 480,523 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,135,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,132,000 after buying an additional 441,417 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels during the 4th quarter valued at $61,572,000. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Hyatt Hotels during the 4th quarter valued at $43,953,000. 73.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Up 3.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.97. The stock has a market cap of $11.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 1.35.

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.