InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG) Short Interest Update

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 774,000 shares, an increase of 75.4% from the February 13th total of 441,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 181,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of InterContinental Hotels Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IHG. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in InterContinental Hotels Group by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its position in InterContinental Hotels Group by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 3,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in InterContinental Hotels Group by 67.3% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in InterContinental Hotels Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.09% of the company’s stock.

InterContinental Hotels Group Price Performance

IHG stock traded up $2.30 on Friday, hitting $113.69. 162,271 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 169,081. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $127.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.03. InterContinental Hotels Group has a twelve month low of $91.57 and a twelve month high of $137.25.

InterContinental Hotels Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $1.144 dividend. This is a positive change from InterContinental Hotels Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.53. This represents a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. InterContinental Hotels Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on IHG. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of InterContinental Hotels Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of InterContinental Hotels Group in a report on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Barclays raised InterContinental Hotels Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised InterContinental Hotels Group from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

InterContinental Hotels Group Company Profile

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC owns, manages, franchises, and leases hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Greater China. The company operates hotels under the Six Senses, Regent, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Vignette Collection, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, voco, HUALUXE, Crowne Plaza, Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, EVEN, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, Garner, avid hotels, Atwell Suites, Staybridge Suites, Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, and Candlewood Suites brand names.