DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) Short Interest Up 12.9% in October

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 18,780,000 shares, an increase of 12.9% from the September 30th total of 16,640,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,930,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 9.7 days. Currently, 9.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DiamondRock Hospitality

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP increased its position in DiamondRock Hospitality by 2,093.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 3,769 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 35.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,153 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality in the third quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality in the second quarter valued at $89,000.

DiamondRock Hospitality Price Performance

DRH traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $8.57. 1,584,832 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,869,745. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.27 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $8.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.54. DiamondRock Hospitality has a 1-year low of $7.45 and a 1-year high of $9.99.

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $309.28 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $301.77 million. DiamondRock Hospitality had a net margin of 6.43% and a return on equity of 4.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that DiamondRock Hospitality will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

DiamondRock Hospitality Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. DiamondRock Hospitality’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on DRH. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Compass Point raised shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $10.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $9.50 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, DiamondRock Hospitality presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $9.92.

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.