Freedom Broker Initiates Coverage on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH)

Research analysts at Freedom Broker started coverage on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Freedom Broker’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 21.52% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $100.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $91.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.08.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WH traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 662,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,923. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a 1 year low of $66.87 and a 1 year high of $90.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.67.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 74.22%. The firm had revenue of $375.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $400.75 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.710-4.830 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will post 4.81 EPS for the current year.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, September 29th that permits the company to buy back $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

In other news, CEO Geoffrey Ballotti sold 19,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.71, for a total value of $1,411,591.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 549,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,941,275.33. This trade represents a 3.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WH. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth about $623,573,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,188,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,024,000 after acquiring an additional 583,967 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,371,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,379,000 after acquiring an additional 29,422 shares during the last quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,648,000. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 229.3% during the 1st quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 957,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,783,000 after acquiring an additional 666,746 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a global hotel franchising company that provides lodging brands, operating support and related services to hotel owners and operators. Rather than owning and managing most of its properties directly, the company primarily operates an asset-light franchise model in which independent hotel owners use Wyndham’s brands, reservation systems, marketing programs, technology and operational resources.

The company’s portfolio spans economy and midscale lodging, as well as select upscale and extended-stay concepts.