InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, a growth of 32.2% from the March 15th total of 824,400 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 244,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On InterContinental Hotels Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in InterContinental Hotels Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 698,150 shares of the company's stock worth $87,213,000 after buying an additional 8,067 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in InterContinental Hotels Group by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 430,323 shares of the company's stock worth $53,756,000 after acquiring an additional 35,003 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 373,139 shares of the company's stock worth $46,613,000 after acquiring an additional 6,709 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 29.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 320,286 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,388,000 after purchasing an additional 73,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in InterContinental Hotels Group by 9,964.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 146,741 shares of the company's stock worth $160,810,000 after purchasing an additional 145,283 shares during the last quarter. 15.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IHG has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup began coverage on InterContinental Hotels Group in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a "sell" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of InterContinental Hotels Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of InterContinental Hotels Group from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of InterContinental Hotels Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

InterContinental Hotels Group Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of InterContinental Hotels Group stock traded up $1.00 on Thursday, reaching $105.04. 71,607 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 240,149. The company has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.61, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.29. InterContinental Hotels Group has a one year low of $91.57 and a one year high of $137.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $112.85 and a 200 day moving average of $119.98.

InterContinental Hotels Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $1.144 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from InterContinental Hotels Group's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.53. InterContinental Hotels Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.36%.

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.