Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 361,674 Shares of DiamondRock Hospitality Company $DRH

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality Company (NYSE:DRH) by 37.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,334,731 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 361,674 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.65% of DiamondRock Hospitality worth $12,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 21.1% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 141,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 24,764 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 15.8% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,470 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 2,243 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in DiamondRock Hospitality by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 601,908 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,649,000 after buying an additional 58,968 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in DiamondRock Hospitality by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 90,601 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 5,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in DiamondRock Hospitality during the 1st quarter worth approximately $97,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on DRH shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on DiamondRock Hospitality from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their target price on DiamondRock Hospitality from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $9.60 to $10.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $12.50 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, DiamondRock Hospitality presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.12.

DiamondRock Hospitality Stock Up 1.4%

DiamondRock Hospitality stock opened at $12.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 51.40, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.98. DiamondRock Hospitality Company has a 12-month low of $7.45 and a 12-month high of $13.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $11.81 and its 200 day moving average is $10.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

DiamondRock Hospitality Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. DiamondRock Hospitality’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael A. Hartmeier sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.46, for a total value of $209,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 95,354 shares in the company, valued at $997,402.84. This trade represents a 17.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kathleen Merrill sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.88, for a total value of $237,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 84,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,899.80. The trade was a 19.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About DiamondRock Hospitality

DiamondRock Hospitality Company is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of upscale, full-service hotels in urban gateway markets across the United States. Established in 2004 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, the company focuses on investing in high-quality lodging properties that cater to both business and leisure travelers. Its assets are positioned in key metropolitan areas, enabling DiamondRock to benefit from strong demand drivers such as corporate travel, group conventions and resort leisure stays.

The company’s portfolio includes full-service hotels offering a broad range of amenities, including guest rooms, on-site food and beverage outlets, meeting and event space, fitness centers and spa services.