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

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:WH)’s stock price shot up 5.6% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $76.45 and last traded at $76.01. 340,407 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average session 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 39.91% and a net margin of 20.74%. The company had revenue of $305.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.24 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on WH. StockNews.com began coverage on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Friday, April 19th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts presently has a consensus 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total value of $252,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,916. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Equitable Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 16.9% in the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 80.1% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 32,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,494,000 after buying an additional 14,457 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 2.6% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts during the first quarter valued at $270,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 17.9% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 67,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,176,000 after buying an additional 10,224 shares during the period. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Stock Up 4.8 %

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

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.