Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) Now Covered by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock.

H has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Hyatt Hotels from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $138.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Hyatt Hotels in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley raised Hyatt Hotels from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $147.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Hyatt Hotels from $156.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hyatt Hotels currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.33.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:H opened at $161.80 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $146.31 and its 200 day moving average is $141.90. The company has a market cap of $15.36 billion, a PE ratio of 38.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Hyatt Hotels has a 1 year low of $102.43 and a 1 year high of $168.20.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.79). The business had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a return on equity of 6.54% and a net margin of 6.39%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Hyatt Hotels Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Hyatt Hotels’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -64.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider Peter Sears sold 12,394 shares of Hyatt Hotels stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.51, for a total value of $1,927,390.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,922.94. The trade was a 68.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider David Udell sold 4,131 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.10, for a total transaction of $624,194.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,531,831.60. This represents a 19.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,586 shares of company stock valued at $3,611,550. 23.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hyatt Hotels

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Hyatt Hotels in the first quarter worth $882,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 72.0% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 3,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Hyatt Hotels in the 1st quarter worth about $1,474,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,534 shares during the period. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 188.7% during the 1st quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 5,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 3,879 shares during the last quarter. 73.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hyatt Hotels Company Profile

Hyatt Hotels Corporation operates as a hospitality company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Owned and Leased Hotels, Americas Management and Franchising, ASPAC Management and Franchising, EAME Management and Franchising, and Apple Leisure Group segments. The company manages, franchises, licenses, owns, and leases portfolio of properties, consisting of full-service hotels and resorts, select service hotels, and other properties, including timeshare, fractional, residential, vacation, and condominium units.