North Star Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in 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. lessened its position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,158 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,413 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.31% of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts worth $21,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WH. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG purchased a new stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter worth about $201,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,541 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 47,845 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,823,000 after purchasing an additional 5,618 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 18,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 508.7% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 280 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Geoffrey A. Ballotti sold 26,724 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.77, for a total transaction of $2,292,117.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 467,394 shares in the company, valued at $40,088,383.38. The trade was a 5.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WH traded down $2.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $83.90. 981,736 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,393,327. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a 52 week low of $72.14 and a 52 week high of $113.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.99. The company's 50 day moving average price is $84.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.84.

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

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts's payout ratio is currently 38.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WH. Barclays raised their price target on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $124.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.98.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Profile

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.