North Star Asset Management Inc. Sells 7,413 Shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH)

Key Points

• North Star Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 3.0% during the first quarter, owning 237,158 shares worth approximately $21.47 million.
• CEO Geoffrey A. Ballotti sold 26,724 shares at an average price of $85.77, resulting in a 5.41% decrease in his position.
• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts reported a net margin of 23.10% for the latest quarter, with earnings per share of $1.33, surpassing analysts' expectations.

North Star Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 237,158 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,413 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.31% of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts worth $21,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WH. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,541 shares of the company's stock worth $1,667,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,845 shares of the company's stock worth $4,823,000 after acquiring an additional 5,618 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 18,622 shares of the company's stock worth $1,877,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 508.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 2.8%

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts stock traded down $2.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $85.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,475,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,366,204. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $84.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.03. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a 12 month low of $72.14 and a 12 month high of $113.07. The company has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.98.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $397.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $384.69 million. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 60.79% and a net margin of 23.10%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WH shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $124.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $125.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy 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 $106.98.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wyndham Hotels & Resorts news, CEO Geoffrey A. Ballotti sold 26,724 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.77, for a total value of $2,292,117.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 467,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,088,383.38. This represents a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.46% of the company's stock.

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.