Morgan Stanley Upgrades Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) to “Overweight”

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) was upgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $168.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $147.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 13.26% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on H. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hyatt Hotels in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Hyatt Hotels from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Hyatt Hotels from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised Hyatt Hotels from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.76.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE H opened at $148.33 on Wednesday. Hyatt Hotels has a 1 year low of $102.43 and a 1 year high of $168.20. The firm has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.23, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a return on equity of 6.54% and a net margin of 6.39%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David Udell sold 4,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $587,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,429,620. This trade represents a 19.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 23.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hyatt Hotels

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in H. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Hyatt Hotels by 86.7% during the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 53.4% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Hyatt Hotels by 18,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 33.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 385 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.54% 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.