Wyndham Hotels & Resorts $WH Stock Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 307,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,888 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts were worth $22,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commerce Bank purchased a new position in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,115,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the second quarter worth $8,823,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the second quarter worth $1,689,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the second quarter worth $4,553,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the second quarter worth $47,811,000. 93.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

In related news, CEO Geoffrey Ballotti sold 19,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.71, for a total transaction of $1,411,591.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 549,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,941,275.33. This trade represents a 3.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Scott R. Strickland sold 12,000 shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.77, for a total transaction of $957,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,352,417.30. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 50,709 shares of company stock valued at $3,790,680 over the last ninety days. 2.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

WH stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $79.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 963,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,482,909. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has a 12 month low of $66.87 and a 12 month high of $90.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.90.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $410.00 million during 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 company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, September 29th that permits the company to buy back $400 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 7.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $100.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Mizuho set a $95.00 price target on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.67.

About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

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.