Morgan Stanley Cuts Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) Price Target to $209.00

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $218.00 to $209.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on H. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $186.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Hyatt Hotels from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Hyatt Hotels in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $198.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, HSBC upgraded Hyatt Hotels from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $212.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $196.64.

Hyatt Hotels Stock Down 2.0%

H stock opened at $179.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.07. Hyatt Hotels has a twelve month low of $134.18 and a twelve month high of $206.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.90 billion, a PE ratio of 218.64 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a net margin of 1.10% and a return on equity of 7.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 27th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Hyatt Hotels’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider David Udell sold 2,087 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.00, for a total value of $392,356.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,127,944. This represents a 11.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Peter Sears sold 10,217 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.66, for a total value of $1,896,888.22. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,374 shares in the company, valued at $1,183,396.84. The trade was a 61.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,004 shares of company stock worth $2,595,040. 23.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hyatt Hotels

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of H. Bamco Inc. NY purchased a new position in shares of Hyatt Hotels during the second quarter worth approximately $1,028,638,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels in the 2nd quarter valued at $249,931,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 827.9% during the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,900,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,616 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,676,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $749,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Hyatt Hotels by 84.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,228,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,545,000 after purchasing an additional 562,611 shares during the period. 73.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Hyatt Hotels

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) is a global hospitality company that develops, owns, manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts and vacation properties. Its portfolio spans a range of price points and styles under brands such as Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Andaz, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Centric, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Thompson Hotels, Alila and Destination by Hyatt. In addition to accommodations, the company provides meeting and event spaces, food and beverage outlets, spa and wellness centers, and a variety of guest services designed to cater to both leisure and business travelers.

Hyatt’s business model combines property ownership, management contracts and third-party franchising.