Short Interest in H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) Expands By 10.4%

H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,110,000 shares, a growth of 10.4% from the March 31st total of 9,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on HTHT. CLSA began coverage on H World Group in a report on Friday, April 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on H World Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of H World Group in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Bank of America lowered their target price on H World Group from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Macquarie began coverage on H World Group in a report on Friday, April 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.40.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in H World Group by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 16,389,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,080,000 after buying an additional 1,039,888 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in H World Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,432,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $281,986,000 after buying an additional 27,629 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in H World Group by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,229,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,540,000 after buying an additional 382,538 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in H World Group by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,057,059 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,110,000 after buying an additional 116,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in H World Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,460,000. 46.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

H World Group Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of HTHT traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $37.49. The company had a trading volume of 1,973,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,853,009. The company has a market capitalization of $12.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. H World Group has a one year low of $30.20 and a one year high of $48.84. The company's fifty day moving average price is $38.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.74.

H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. H World Group had a return on equity of 31.50% and a net margin of 18.62%. The firm had revenue of $786.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $759.99 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that H World Group will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

H World Group Company Profile

H World Group Limited, together with its subsidiaries, develops leased and owned, manachised, and franchised hotels primarily in the People's Republic of China. The company operates hotels under its own brands, such as HanTing Hotel, Ni Hao Hotel, Hi Inn, Elan Hotel, Zleep Hotels, Ibis Hotel, JI Hotel, Orange Hotel, Starway Hotel, Ibis Styles Hotel, CitiGO Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, IntercityHotel, Manxin Hotel, Mercure Hotel, Madison Hotel, Novotel Hotel, Joya Hotel, Blossom House, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, MAXX by Steigenberger, Jaz in the City, Grand Mercure, Steigenberger Icon, and Song Hotels.