DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) Stock Rating Upgraded by Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH - Free Report) from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Bank of America currently has $9.50 price target on the real estate investment trust's stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on DiamondRock Hospitality from $9.75 to $8.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.50 to $9.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, DiamondRock Hospitality presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.04.

DiamondRock Hospitality Stock Performance

DRH traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $7.64. The stock had a trading volume of 954,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,188,028. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. DiamondRock Hospitality has a 12 month low of $6.02 and a 12 month high of $10.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.49.

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $254.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $256.47 million. DiamondRock Hospitality had a net margin of 6.30% and a return on equity of 4.25%. The firm's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. Analysts expect that DiamondRock Hospitality will post 0.96 EPS for the current year.

DiamondRock Hospitality Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from DiamondRock Hospitality's previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. DiamondRock Hospitality's dividend payout ratio is 188.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DiamondRock Hospitality

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,682,395 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $20,708,000 after acquiring an additional 473,698 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in DiamondRock Hospitality during the 1st quarter worth approximately $137,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality in the first quarter worth approximately $395,000. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 13.6% in the first quarter. Lightrock Netherlands B.V. now owns 589,109 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,556,000 after purchasing an additional 70,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 2.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,034,246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,984,000 after buying an additional 23,653 shares during the last quarter.

DiamondRock Hospitality Company Profile

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.