Intercontinental Hotels Group (NYSE:IHG) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Intercontinental Hotels Group (NYSE:IHG) shares gapped up from $117.79 to $122.26 following an upgrade from JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a neutral to an overweight rating.
• Wall Street Zen raised its rating on IHG from a "hold" to a "buy," with two analysts rating it as a buy, while the average rating remains a "hold."
• Institutional investments increased significantly, with Ameriprise Financial and GAMMA Investing LLC notably enhancing their stakes in IHG by 5.3% and 9,964.5% respectively.

Intercontinental Hotels Group (NYSE:IHG - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. The stock had previously closed at $117.79, but opened at $122.26. Intercontinental Hotels Group shares last traded at $122.34, with a volume of 63,907 shares.

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Intercontinental Hotels Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Hotels Group has an average rating of "Hold".

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in IHG. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Hotels Group by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $957,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Intercontinental Hotels Group by 722.4% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,283 shares of the company's stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 1,127 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Intercontinental Hotels Group by 9,964.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 146,741 shares of the company's stock worth $160,810,000 after buying an additional 145,283 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Intercontinental Hotels Group by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 20,685 shares of the company's stock worth $2,267,000 after buying an additional 3,758 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Hotels Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $276,000. 15.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Intercontinental Hotels Group Trading Up 3.8%

The company has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $119.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.22.

Intercontinental Hotels Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.566 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 140.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 22nd. Intercontinental Hotels Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.04%.

About Intercontinental Hotels Group

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC owns, manages, franchises, and leases hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Greater China. The company operates hotels under the Six Senses, Regent, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Vignette Collection, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, voco, HUALUXE, Crowne Plaza, Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, EVEN, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, Garner, avid hotels, Atwell Suites, Staybridge Suites, Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, and Candlewood Suites brand names.

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