DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) Raised to “Buy” at Bank of America

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) was upgraded by equities researchers at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $9.50 price objective on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 28.12% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on DRH. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on DiamondRock Hospitality from $9.75 to $8.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.00.

DiamondRock Hospitality Stock Performance

DRH opened at $7.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.51. DiamondRock Hospitality has a 52-week low of $6.19 and a 52-week high of $10.00. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.02. DiamondRock Hospitality had a return on equity of 4.25% and a net margin of 6.30%. The business had revenue of $254.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that DiamondRock Hospitality will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of DiamondRock Hospitality

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in DiamondRock Hospitality by 156.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,699 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 2,256 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in DiamondRock Hospitality in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in DiamondRock Hospitality in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. FIL Ltd purchased a new stake in DiamondRock Hospitality in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in DiamondRock Hospitality by 278.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 9,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 7,189 shares in the last quarter.

About DiamondRock Hospitality

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.