Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:WH) Short Interest Update

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:WH) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,480,000 shares, a decrease of 21.8% from the February 13th total of 3,170,000 shares. Currently, 3.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 853,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

WH traded up $2.34 on Monday, hitting $91.94. 646,336 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 786,180. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a fifty-two week low of $67.67 and a fifty-two week high of $113.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $103.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.63. The stock has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.28.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 20.51% and a return on equity of 54.86%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is 45.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 10,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 9,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 3,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WH has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $99.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $113.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $105.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $107.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.45.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc engages in the franchise and operation of hotels under the Wyndham brand. It operates through the Hotel Franchising and Hotel Management segments. The Hotel Franchising segment focuses on licensing the company’s lodging brands and providing related services to third-party hotel owners and others.