Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PK) Short Interest Down 19.6% in December

Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. (NYSE:PK) saw a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,280,000 shares, a decrease of 19.6% from the November 30th total of 20,260,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.2 days. Currently, 8.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PK. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Park Hotels & Resorts from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Compass Point lowered their price objective on Park Hotels & Resorts from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wolfe Research cut Park Hotels & Resorts from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Park Hotels & Resorts from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Park Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.55.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Park Hotels & Resorts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Park Hotels & Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Park Hotels & Resorts by 281.6% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,841 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Park Hotels & Resorts by 82.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,857 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Park Hotels & Resorts during the third quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Park Hotels & Resorts by 64.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 6,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.69% of the company’s stock.

Park Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Park Hotels & Resorts stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $14.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,722,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,820,048. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.37, a PEG ratio of 6.90 and a beta of 2.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $14.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.66. Park Hotels & Resorts has a 52-week low of $13.23 and a 52-week high of $18.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Park Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:PK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.47 by ($0.21). Park Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 12.66%. The business had revenue of $649.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Park Hotels & Resorts will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Park Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.68%. This is a positive change from Park Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Park Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.69%.

About Park Hotels & Resorts

Park is one of the largest publicly traded lodging REITs with a diverse portfolio of market-leading hotels and resorts with significant underlying real estate value. Park's portfolio currently consists of 43 premium-branded hotels and resorts with over 26,000 rooms primarily located in prime city center and resort locations.