DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 20,100,000 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the November 30th total of 19,060,000 shares. Currently, 10.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,150,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 9.3 days.

DiamondRock Hospitality Stock Performance

NYSE DRH opened at $8.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $9.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.75. DiamondRock Hospitality has a 12-month low of $7.74 and a 12-month high of $10.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

DiamondRock Hospitality Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.35%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from DiamondRock Hospitality’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. DiamondRock Hospitality’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DiamondRock Hospitality

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quarry LP increased its holdings in DiamondRock Hospitality by 2,093.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,949 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 3,769 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in DiamondRock Hospitality by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,153 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 2,116 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in DiamondRock Hospitality during the third quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in DiamondRock Hospitality during the second quarter worth $89,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DRH shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.00 to $10.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded DiamondRock Hospitality from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $10.75 to $10.25 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI cut DiamondRock Hospitality from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $10.50 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised DiamondRock Hospitality from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.38.

About DiamondRock Hospitality

DiamondRock Hospitality Company is a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) that is an owner of a leading portfolio of geographically diversified hotels concentrated in leisure destinations and top gateway markets. The Company currently owns 36 premium quality hotels with over 9,700 rooms. The Company has strategically positioned its portfolio to be operated both under leading global brand families as well as independent boutique hotels in the lifestyle segment.