H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $36.83, but opened at $39.84. H World Group shares last traded at $38.19, with a volume of 313,207 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of H World Group from $64.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.80.

H World Group Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.77 and its 200 day moving average is $34.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.06). H World Group had a net margin of 16.32% and a return on equity of 29.32%. The company had revenue of $846.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $839.89 million. On average, analysts predict that H World Group Limited will post 1.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

H World Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a Variable dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 3.9%. H World Group’s dividend payout ratio is 75.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H World Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of H World Group by 716.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in H World Group during the second quarter worth approximately $91,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in H World Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $373,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of H World Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $394,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of H World Group in the fourth quarter worth $395,000. Institutional investors own 46.41% of the company’s stock.

About H World Group

H World Group Limited develops leased and owned, manachised, and franchised hotels 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.