Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) Shares Up 5.6% After Earnings Beat

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:WH) rose 5.6% on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $76.45 and last traded at $76.01. Approximately 340,407 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 661,490 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.96.

The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.03. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 39.89% and a net margin of 17.19%. The business had revenue of $305.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $308.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.38 dividend. This is an increase from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 53.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WH has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Friday, April 19th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Nicola Rossi sold 3,200 shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total value of $252,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,916. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 395 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 68.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 41,100.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 824 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 2.1 %

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.35.

About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc operates as a hotel franchisor in the United States and internationally. It operates through Hotel Franchising and Hotel Management segments. The Hotel Franchising segment licenses its lodging brands and provides related services to third-party hotel owners and others.