Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:XHR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Xenia Hotels & Resorts experienced a significant increase in short interest, growing from 113,600 shares to 4,010,000 shares in July, marking a growth of 3,429.9%.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.57 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and achieving a 5.4% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Xenia Hotels & Resorts announced a $100 million share repurchase plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:XHR - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,010,000 shares, agrowthof3,429.9% from the June 30th total of 113,600 shares. Currently,4.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently,4.1% of the company's shares are sold short.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE XHR traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.47. 1,712,532 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 948,944. The business's 50 day moving average is $12.58 and its 200-day moving average is $12.59. Xenia Hotels & Resorts has a 12-month low of $8.55 and a 12-month high of $16.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.68 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:XHR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.14. Xenia Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 1.80% and a net margin of 2.19%. The company had revenue of $287.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.43 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Xenia Hotels & Resorts will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 14th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Xenia Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 254.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of XHR. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Xenia Hotels & Resorts by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,126,198 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,004,000 after purchasing an additional 321,343 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Xenia Hotels & Resorts by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,788,688 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,580,000 after purchasing an additional 126,193 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Xenia Hotels & Resorts by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,671,155 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $24,833,000 after purchasing an additional 455,757 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Xenia Hotels & Resorts by 258.8% during the 4th quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,655,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $24,599,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193,990 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Xenia Hotels & Resorts by 138.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 1,650,570 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,411,000 after purchasing an additional 959,641 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on XHR. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Xenia Hotels & Resorts from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Xenia Hotels & Resorts from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Xenia Hotels & Resorts from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Xenia Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $10.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xenia Hotels & Resorts has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $12.90.

About Xenia Hotels & Resorts

Xenia Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the provision of investment in luxury and upper upscale hotels and resorts. It also owns a diversified portfolio of lodging properties operated by Marriott, Kimpton, Hyatt, Aston, Fairmong, and Loews. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL.

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