InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG) Short Interest Update

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 774,000 shares, an increase of 75.4% from the February 13th total of 441,400 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 181,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Institutional Trading of InterContinental Hotels Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in InterContinental Hotels Group by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,387,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $705,758,000 after buying an additional 351,723 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in InterContinental Hotels Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 698,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,213,000 after purchasing an additional 8,067 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in InterContinental Hotels Group by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 430,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,756,000 after purchasing an additional 35,003 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in InterContinental Hotels Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 373,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,613,000 after purchasing an additional 6,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in InterContinental Hotels Group by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 320,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,388,000 after purchasing an additional 73,361 shares during the period. 15.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on IHG shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of InterContinental Hotels Group in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut shares of InterContinental Hotels Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded InterContinental Hotels Group from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays raised InterContinental Hotels Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, InterContinental Hotels Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

InterContinental Hotels Group Stock Performance

NYSE IHG traded up $2.30 on Friday, reaching $113.69. The stock had a trading volume of 162,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,081. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $127.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.03. The stock has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.33. InterContinental Hotels Group has a 12-month low of $91.57 and a 12-month high of $137.25.

InterContinental Hotels Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a $1.144 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from InterContinental Hotels Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.53. This represents a yield of 1.4%. InterContinental Hotels Group’s payout ratio is currently 18.79%.

About InterContinental Hotels Group

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC owns, manages, franchises, and leases hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Greater China. The company operates hotels under the Six Senses, Regent, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Vignette Collection, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, voco, HUALUXE, Crowne Plaza, Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, EVEN, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, Garner, avid hotels, Atwell Suites, Staybridge Suites, Iberostar Beachfront Resorts, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, and Candlewood Suites brand names.