Short Interest in H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) Increases By 10.4%

H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,110,000 shares, an increase of 10.4% from the March 31st total of 9,160,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,820,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on HTHT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of H World Group from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. CLSA began coverage on shares of H World Group in a research note on Friday, April 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $64.00 target price on shares of H World Group in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Macquarie began coverage on shares of H World Group in a report on Friday, April 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $48.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of H World Group from $51.00 to $43.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.40.

H World Group Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of HTHT traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.62. The stock had a trading volume of 633,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,836,523. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. H World Group has a 52-week low of $30.20 and a 52-week high of $48.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $38.13 and its 200 day moving average is $35.74. The firm has a market cap of $12.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.92.

H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 20th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.02. H World Group had a net margin of 18.62% and a return on equity of 31.50%. The company had revenue of $786.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.99 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that H World Group will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of H World Group by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 16,389,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,888 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in H World Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,432,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,986,000 after acquiring an additional 27,629 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in H World Group by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,229,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,540,000 after acquiring an additional 382,538 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in H World Group by 6.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,057,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,110,000 after acquiring an additional 116,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in H World Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,460,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.41% of the company’s stock.

About H World Group

H World Group Limited, together with its subsidiaries, develops leased and owned, manachised, and franchised hotels primarily in the People's Republic of China. The company operates hotels under its own brands, such as HanTing Hotel, Ni Hao Hotel, Hi Inn, Elan Hotel, Zleep Hotels, Ibis Hotel, JI Hotel, Orange Hotel, Starway Hotel, Ibis Styles Hotel, CitiGO Hotel, Crystal Orange Hotel, IntercityHotel, Manxin Hotel, Mercure Hotel, Madison Hotel, Novotel Hotel, Joya Hotel, Blossom House, Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts, MAXX by Steigenberger, Jaz in the City, Grand Mercure, Steigenberger Icon, and Song Hotels.