Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:WH) Short Interest Update

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:WH) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,170,000 shares, an increase of 37.8% from the January 31st total of 2,300,000 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 746,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

NYSE:WH traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $105.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 312,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 770,111. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.61. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a twelve month low of $67.67 and a twelve month high of $113.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.72, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $8.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.29.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.04. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 54.86% and a net margin of 20.51%. On average, analysts anticipate that Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 24,953.8% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,333,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,414,000 after buying an additional 1,328,292 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at about $104,774,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 404.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,213,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,261,000 after acquiring an additional 972,708 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at $54,738,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 40.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,747,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,533,000 after purchasing an additional 506,593 shares during the period. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $107.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $105.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $107.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.45.

About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc engages in the franchise and operation of hotels under the Wyndham brand. It operates through the Hotel Franchising and Hotel Management segments. The Hotel Franchising segment focuses on licensing the company’s lodging brands and providing related services to third-party hotel owners and others.