First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) by 112.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 428,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 226,821 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.21% of DiamondRock Hospitality worth $3,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,716,469 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,620,000 after purchasing an additional 901,600 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in DiamondRock Hospitality by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 138,327 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,249,000 after buying an additional 43,088 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality during the 4th quarter valued at $5,839,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC purchased a new position in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality in the 4th quarter worth $14,889,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 37.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 368,616 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,219,000 after acquiring an additional 100,805 shares during the period.

DiamondRock Hospitality Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of DRH stock opened at $7.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.38. DiamondRock Hospitality has a 12-month low of $6.19 and a 12-month high of $10.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $7.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.50.

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.02. DiamondRock Hospitality had a return on equity of 4.25% and a net margin of 6.30%. The business had revenue of $254.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $256.47 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that DiamondRock Hospitality will post 0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

DiamondRock Hospitality Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were issued a $0.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 28th. This is an increase from DiamondRock Hospitality’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.20%. DiamondRock Hospitality’s payout ratio is 188.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on DiamondRock Hospitality from $8.00 to $8.25 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.50 to $9.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $9.50 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.04.

About DiamondRock Hospitality

DiamondRock Hospitality Company is a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) that is an owner of a leading portfolio of geographically diversified hotels concentrated in leisure destinations and top gateway markets. The Company currently owns 36 premium quality hotels with over 9,700 rooms. The Company has strategically positioned its portfolio to be operated both under leading global brand families as well as independent boutique hotels in the lifestyle segment.