Stifel Financial Corp Lowers Stock Position in DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH)

Stifel Financial Corp trimmed its position in DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,089 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in DiamondRock Hospitality were worth $1,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,716,469 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,620,000 after purchasing an additional 901,600 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in DiamondRock Hospitality by 45.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 138,327 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,249,000 after buying an additional 43,088 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in DiamondRock Hospitality during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,839,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC purchased a new position in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality in the fourth quarter valued at about $14,889,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 37.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 368,616 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,219,000 after acquiring an additional 100,805 shares during the period.

DiamondRock Hospitality Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRH opened at $7.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $7.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.47. DiamondRock Hospitality has a 52 week low of $6.19 and a 52 week high of $10.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.33.

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $254.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.47 million. DiamondRock Hospitality had a return on equity of 4.25% and a net margin of 6.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that DiamondRock Hospitality will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

DiamondRock Hospitality Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from DiamondRock Hospitality’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. DiamondRock Hospitality’s dividend payout ratio is presently 177.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on DRH. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on DiamondRock Hospitality from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $9.50 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $8.00 to $8.25 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.50 to $9.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.04.

DiamondRock Hospitality Company Profile

DiamondRock Hospitality Company is a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) that is an owner of a leading portfolio of geographically diversified hotels concentrated in leisure destinations and top gateway markets. The Company currently owns 36 premium quality hotels with over 9,700 rooms. The Company has strategically positioned its portfolio to be operated both under leading global brand families as well as independent boutique hotels in the lifestyle segment.