Intercontinental Hotels Group (NYSE:IHG) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• IHG reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $176.00, up from its previous close of $170.20.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: MarketBeat reports a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $179.00, with seven analysts rating the stock Buy or Strong Buy and two rating it Hold.
• The company’s recently paid dividend fell to $0.645 per share from $1.259 previously.

Shares of Intercontinental Hotels Group (NYSE:IHG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $176.00 and last traded at $175.73, with a volume of 229,326 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $170.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IHG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Intercontinental Hotels Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Bank of America reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Hotels Group in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of Intercontinental Hotels Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Intercontinental Hotels Group in a research note on Friday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $179.00.

Intercontinental Hotels Group Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $161.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.53.

Intercontinental Hotels Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.6450 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This is a negative change from Intercontinental Hotels Group's previous dividend of $1.2590. This represents a yield of 81.0%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IHG. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Hotels Group by 55.6% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 406,572 shares of the company's stock worth $54,261,000 after purchasing an additional 145,360 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Hotels Group by 198.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 60,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,088,000 after purchasing an additional 40,300 shares during the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA raised its holdings in Intercontinental Hotels Group by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA now owns 134,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,918,000 after buying an additional 31,754 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Hotels Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,259,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Intercontinental Hotels Group by 25.0% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 93,268 shares of the company's stock worth $12,448,000 after buying an additional 18,631 shares during the last quarter. 15.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Hotels Group Company Profile

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC NYSE: IHG is a global hospitality company that owns, manages, franchises and licenses a portfolio of hotel brands. Its brands include InterContinental, Regent, Six Senses, Kimpton, Crowne Plaza, voco, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites, avid hotels and Garner.

IHG serves business and leisure travelers across a broad range of lodging segments, from luxury and lifestyle hotels to full-service, upscale, midscale and extended-stay accommodations.

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