Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) Stock Price Target Cut by Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird cut Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’ price target from $96 to $95 while maintaining an “outperform” rating, implying approximately 26.7% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable overall: nine analysts rate the stock a Buy and five rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average $96 target.
• Wyndham exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $1.43 versus $1.32 expected and revenue of $410 million; its board also authorized a $400 million share repurchase program, covering up to 7.6% of shares.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $96.00 to $95.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.73% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.00.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 4.3%

NYSE WH opened at $74.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.53. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $72.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.82. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a 52 week low of $66.87 and a 52 week high of $90.35.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $410.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $408.99 million. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 77.85%. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, September 29th that authorizes the company to buy back $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Wyndham Hotels & Resorts news, CEO Geoffrey Ballotti sold 19,414 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.71, for a total value of $1,411,591.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 549,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,941,275.33. This trade represents a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 2.33% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WH. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,043 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 14.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,858 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 1.7% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 18,153 shares of the company's stock worth $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 2.7% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 15,472 shares of the company's stock worth $1,257,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.46% of the company's stock.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a global hotel franchising company that operates an asset-light lodging business. Rather than owning and managing most of its hotels, the company licenses its brands and provides franchisees with support in areas such as marketing, reservations, technology, training and operational standards.

Its portfolio includes a range of economy, midscale and upscale hotel brands, including Super 8, Days Inn, Ramada, La Quinta, Microtel, Baymont, Wingate, AmericInn, Wyndham, Wyndham Garden, Registry Collection Hotels and ECHO Suites Extended Stay by Wyndham.

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