Freedom Broker Initiates Coverage on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH)

Key Points

• Freedom Broker initiated coverage of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts with a “buy” rating and an $88 price target, implying 21.52% upside from the reported $72.42 share price.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: nine analysts rate the stock a Buy and five rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $95.08.
• Wyndham exceeded quarterly EPS expectations but reported lower-than-expected revenue, while its board authorized a $400 million share-repurchase program covering up to 7.6% of outstanding shares.

Equities researchers at Freedom Broker began coverage on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Freedom Broker's target price suggests a potential upside of 21.52% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $107.00 to $104.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $100.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $95.08.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

NYSE WH traded down $1.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $72.42. 662,374 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,307,923. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.10 and a 200-day moving average of $78.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a one year low of $66.87 and a one year high of $90.35. The stock has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.67.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $375.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $400.75 million. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 74.22%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.33 EPS. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.710-4.830 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, September 29th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wyndham Hotels & Resorts news, CEO Geoffrey Ballotti sold 19,414 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.71, for a total transaction of $1,411,591.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 549,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,941,275.33. The trade was a 3.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 2.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 4.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 18,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,475,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 15,472 shares of the company's stock worth $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a global hotel franchising company that provides lodging brands, operating support and related services to hotel owners and operators. Rather than owning and managing most of its properties directly, the company primarily operates an asset-light franchise model in which independent hotel owners use Wyndham's brands, reservation systems, marketing programs, technology and operational resources.

The company's portfolio spans economy and midscale lodging, as well as select upscale and extended-stay concepts.

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