StockNews.com Downgrades Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) to Sell

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

H has been the subject of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $37.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $162.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $104.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Hyatt Hotels from $116.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Hyatt Hotels from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $149.00 to $156.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.88.

Hyatt Hotels Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:H opened at $151.36 on Thursday. Hyatt Hotels has a fifty-two week low of $96.77 and a fifty-two week high of $161.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $153.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.20, a P/E/G ratio of 21.66 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.26. Hyatt Hotels had a return on equity of 7.59% and a net margin of 3.30%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.55 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hyatt Hotels news, major shareholder F.L.P. Trust #14 sold 1,283,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.96, for a total transaction of $200,096,680.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Joan Bottarini sold 4,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.72, for a total value of $547,060.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,454,664.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder F.L.P. Trust #14 sold 1,283,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.96, for a total value of $200,096,680.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 2,077,803 shares of company stock valued at $325,526,849. 23.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hyatt Hotels

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in H. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Hyatt Hotels during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Hyatt Hotels by 49.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 382 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Hyatt Hotels during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Hyatt Hotels during the 3rd quarter worth $83,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hyatt Hotels during the 3rd quarter worth $157,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.02% of the company’s stock.

About Hyatt Hotels

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.