Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) Trading Up 5.6% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:WH)’s share price was up 5.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $76.45 and last traded at $76.01. Approximately 340,407 shares were traded during 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 the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.03. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 39.91% and a net margin of 20.74%. The business had revenue of $305.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is 44.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WH shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com began coverage on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Friday, April 19th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 7,168,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $576,421,000 after acquiring an additional 220,737 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,545,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,881,000 after purchasing an additional 543,488 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,492,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,317,000 after purchasing an additional 64,925 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 55.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,337,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,043,000 after purchasing an additional 475,682 shares during the period. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,276,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,615,000 after purchasing an additional 45,062 shares during the period. 93.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.59 and a 200-day moving average of $76.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90.

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.