H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) Stock Rating Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of H World Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Weiss Ratings raised H World Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.20.

H World Group Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:HTHT opened at $41.78 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $44.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.14. H World Group has a 12-month low of $36.56 and a 12-month high of $56.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 17th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. H World Group had a net margin of 18.90% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $998.88 million. On average, equities analysts expect that H World Group will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H World Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 394.0%. This is a decrease from H World Group’s previous dividend of $1.30. H World Group’s payout ratio is 74.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H World Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in H World Group by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,334,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,143,000 after buying an additional 3,483,760 shares in the last quarter. Kontiki Capital Management HK Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of H World Group by 49.6% during the 4th quarter. Kontiki Capital Management HK Ltd. now owns 3,703,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $174,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228,617 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of H World Group by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,392,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,013,000 after acquiring an additional 139,300 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of H World Group by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,183,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,644,000 after acquiring an additional 365,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Inc. CA lifted its holdings in H World Group by 406.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 840,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,530,000 after purchasing an additional 674,438 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.41% of the company’s stock.

About H World Group

H World Group Limited is a hospitality company that develops, owns, leases, manages and franchises a portfolio of hotels. The company operates across multiple market segments, offering economy, midscale, upscale and luxury accommodations under a range of proprietary and internationally recognized brands.

Its Chinese portfolio includes brands such as HanTing Hotel, Hi Inn, Elan Hotel, Ji Hotel, Orange Hotel, Starway Hotel and Manxin Hotel. Through its international operations, H World also manages brands associated with Steigenberger Hotels AG, including Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, IntercityHotel, MAXX by Steigenberger, Jaz in the City and Zleep Hotels.