Intercontinental Hotels Group (NYSE:IHG) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Intercontinental Hotels Group (NYSE:IHG) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after UBS Group upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $155.27, but opened at $160.67. UBS Group now has a $188.00 price target on the stock. Intercontinental Hotels Group shares last traded at $161.6270, with a volume of 42,304 shares.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on IHG. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Intercontinental Hotels Group from $160.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Intercontinental Hotels Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Intercontinental Hotels Group from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Intercontinental Hotels Group in a research report on Friday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intercontinental Hotels Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Intercontinental Hotels Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 764,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,601,000 after acquiring an additional 28,526 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Intercontinental Hotels Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 710,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,006,000 after purchasing an additional 9,235 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Hotels Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 501,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,835,000 after purchasing an additional 4,080 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Intercontinental Hotels Group by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 465,747 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,591,000 after purchasing an additional 17,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Intercontinental Hotels Group by 29.5% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 460,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,888,000 after purchasing an additional 105,034 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.09% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Hotels Group Stock Up 3.9%

The business has a fifty day moving average of $162.10 and a 200-day moving average of $151.63.

Intercontinental Hotels Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a yield of 81.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st.

Intercontinental Hotels Group Company Profile

Intercontinental Hotels Group plc (IHG) is a multinational hospitality company that develops, owns, manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts. The company operates across full-service luxury and upscale segments as well as midscale and extended-stay categories, providing lodging, food and beverage, meeting and event services, and related guest amenities. IHG’s business model emphasizes brand franchising and management agreements, while retaining ownership or direct investments in a smaller portion of its global property portfolio.

IHG’s brand portfolio spans global and regional names designed to serve different traveler needs and market segments.