Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) Shares Up 5.6% on Strong Earnings

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:WH) shares were up 5.6% during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $76.45 and last traded at $76.01. Approximately 340,407 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 661,490 shares. The stock had previously closed at $71.96.

The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.03. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 17.19% and a return on equity of 39.89%. The business had revenue of $305.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $308.24 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. This is a boost from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on WH shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Friday, April 19th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $86.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

In related news, CAO Nicola Rossi sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $252,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,404 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,916. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WH. Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 16.9% in the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 80.1% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 32,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,494,000 after buying an additional 14,457 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,834,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts during the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 17.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 67,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,176,000 after acquiring an additional 10,224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.46% of the company’s stock.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 2.1 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.35.

About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc operates as a hotel franchisor in the United States and internationally. It operates through Hotel Franchising and Hotel Management segments. The Hotel Franchising segment licenses its lodging brands and provides related services to third-party hotel owners and others.