Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H) Short Interest Down 10.3% in October

Hyatt Hotels Co. (NYSE:H) was the target of a large decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,510,000 shares, a decline of 10.3% from the October 15th total of 5,030,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 528,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.5 days.

Hyatt Hotels Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:H traded down $0.26 on Monday, hitting $152.68. The stock had a trading volume of 525,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 586,531. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $152.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. Hyatt Hotels has a twelve month low of $112.85 and a twelve month high of $162.24. The company has a market capitalization of $14.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.50.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.04. Hyatt Hotels had a return on equity of 10.74% and a net margin of 20.55%. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Hyatt Hotels’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider Mark Samuel Hoplamazian sold 51,388 shares of Hyatt Hotels stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.77, for a total value of $7,696,380.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 623,556 shares in the company, valued at $93,389,982.12. The trade was a 7.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 23.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 752,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,214,000 after buying an additional 7,440 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 45,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,946,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,130,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $799,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on H shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Hyatt Hotels to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $157.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $141.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Hyatt Hotels from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.57.

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.