MetLife Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:WH)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NYSE:WH) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,087 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,620 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts worth $3,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 40.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,747,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,533,000 after buying an additional 506,593 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 37.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 34,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,699,000 after purchasing an additional 9,463 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 135,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,549,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in the 3rd quarter valued at about $680,000. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts by 221.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 148,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,584,000 after purchasing an additional 102,115 shares in the last quarter. 93.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Michele Allen sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.99, for a total value of $1,349,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $904,939.44. The trade was a 59.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen P. Holmes sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.01, for a total value of $7,280,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 366,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,343,424.71. This trade represents a 17.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 102,890 shares of company stock worth $9,273,255. 2.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $92.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Wyndham Hotels & Resorts from $92.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

WH stock opened at $97.80 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.19. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $67.67 and a 52-week high of $99.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $88.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.10. The company has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.32.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:WH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.01. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 18.29%. The company had revenue of $396.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $408.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.25%.

About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Inc operates as a hotel franchisor in the United States and internationally. It operates through Hotel Franchising and Hotel Management segments. The Hotel Franchising segment licenses its lodging brands and provides related services to third-party hotel owners and others.