Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 49,888 Shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 338.6%, acquiring 49,888 shares, bringing its total holdings to 64,622 shares valued at approximately $5.85 million.
• Analysts are generally positive, with Barclays and JPMorgan Chase setting price targets of $101.00, while the overall consensus rating for the stock is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $106.98.
• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced a quarterly dividend of $0.41 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.78% and a payout ratio of 38.32%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH - Free Report) by 338.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,622 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 49,888 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.08% of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts worth $5,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WH. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 13.3% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,703,000. 93.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

In related news, CEO Geoffrey A. Ballotti sold 26,724 shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.77, for a total value of $2,292,117.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 467,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,088,383.38. The trade was a 5.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.46% of the company's stock.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

NYSE:WH traded down $1.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $88.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,057,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,365,780. The stock has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.44, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a 12-month low of $72.14 and a 12-month high of $113.07.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $397.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $384.69 million. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 60.79% and a net margin of 23.10%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts's payout ratio is currently 38.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $125.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $124.00 to $108.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $121.00 to $102.75 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.98.

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.