The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stock Position in DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 134,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,751 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.06% of DiamondRock Hospitality worth $1,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FIL Ltd purchased a new position in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality during the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 278.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 9,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 7,189 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in DiamondRock Hospitality by 55.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,436 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 3,744 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in DiamondRock Hospitality during the fourth quarter worth about $117,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in DiamondRock Hospitality by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 15,098 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on DRH shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on DiamondRock Hospitality from $8.00 to $8.25 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.50 to $9.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America raised shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $9.50 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $9.04.

DiamondRock Hospitality Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of DRH opened at $7.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.73. DiamondRock Hospitality has a 1-year low of $6.19 and a 1-year high of $10.00.

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 6.30% and a return on equity of 4.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that DiamondRock Hospitality will post 0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

DiamondRock Hospitality Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. This is an increase from DiamondRock Hospitality’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. DiamondRock Hospitality’s payout ratio is currently 177.78%.

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.