Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 23,653 Shares of DiamondRock Hospitality Company (NYSE:DRH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality Company (NYSE:DRH) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,034,246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,653 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of DiamondRock Hospitality worth $7,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality during the fourth quarter worth about $1,816,000. Amundi grew its stake in DiamondRock Hospitality by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 222,965 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 68,100 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in DiamondRock Hospitality by 45.2% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 138,327 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 43,088 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new stake in DiamondRock Hospitality during the fourth quarter worth approximately $175,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in DiamondRock Hospitality by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 112,739 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 30,000 shares during the period.

DiamondRock Hospitality Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:DRH opened at $8.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.42, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. DiamondRock Hospitality Company has a 12-month low of $6.19 and a 12-month high of $10.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $7.73 and its 200 day moving average is $7.96.

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 3.18% and a net margin of 4.57%. DiamondRock Hospitality’s quarterly revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that DiamondRock Hospitality Company will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

DiamondRock Hospitality Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a yield of 4.2%. DiamondRock Hospitality’s dividend payout ratio is currently 177.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on DRH. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Bank of America raised DiamondRock Hospitality from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $9.50 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised DiamondRock Hospitality from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $7.75 to $8.25 in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $8.71.

DiamondRock Hospitality 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.