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) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,010,000 shares, anincreaseof3,429.9% from the June 30th total of 113,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days. Approximately4.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately4.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on XHR shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Xenia Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $10.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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 cut Xenia Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Xenia Hotels & Resorts from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $12.90.

Institutional Trading of Xenia Hotels & Resorts

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Xenia Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Xenia Hotels & Resorts by 231.4% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,575 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Xenia Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Xenia Hotels & Resorts during the first quarter worth $68,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Xenia Hotels & Resorts by 288.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,438 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 4,782 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.43% of the company's stock.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:XHR traded down $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $12.72. 780,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 948,137. The company's 50 day moving average is $12.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Xenia Hotels & Resorts has a 52 week low of $8.55 and a 52 week high of $16.50.

Xenia Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:XHR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $287.58 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.43 million. Xenia Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 4.95% and a net margin of 5.86%. The company's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xenia Hotels & Resorts will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Xenia Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Xenia Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio is presently 88.89%.

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.