Wyndham Hotels & Resorts $WH Shares Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) by 986.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,139 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,748 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts worth $6,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the second quarter worth $623,573,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,371,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,379,000 after buying an additional 29,422 shares in the last quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at $100,648,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at $56,860,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth about $47,811,000. 93.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE WH opened at $78.99 on Friday. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a 52-week low of $66.87 and a 52-week high of $90.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.69, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 29.36, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.64.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $410.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $408.99 million. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 13.97% and a return on equity of 77.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, September 29th that allows the company to repurchase $400 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.94%.

Insider Activity at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

In related news, insider Scott Strickland sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.77, for a total transaction of $957,240.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 29,490 shares in the company, valued at $2,352,417.30. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Geoffrey A. Ballotti sold 19,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.69, for a total value of $1,421,848.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 550,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,563,176.33. This represents a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,709 shares of company stock valued at $3,790,680. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WH shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $100.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Freedom Broker started coverage on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.67.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is a hospitality company focused primarily on franchising hotels. It provides franchisees with access to hotel brands, reservation and loyalty platforms, and operational support, while serving travelers through properties across a range of price points and lodging styles. Its portfolio includes brands such as Wyndham, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, La Quinta, Microtel, Wingate, Trademark Collection and Registry Collection. The company’s hotels serve guests in markets around the world, including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East.