Short Interest in DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) Declines By 21.4%

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,800,000 shares, a decline of 21.4% from the December 15th total of 20,100,000 shares. Currently, 7.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.5 days.

DiamondRock Hospitality Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of DiamondRock Hospitality stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $9.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 803,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,647,043. The company has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $8.78. DiamondRock Hospitality has a one year low of $7.74 and a one year high of $10.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a current ratio of 1.73.

DiamondRock Hospitality Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 14.23%. This is an increase from DiamondRock Hospitality’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. DiamondRock Hospitality’s payout ratio is 42.86%.

Institutional Trading of DiamondRock Hospitality

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRH. State Street Corp grew its holdings in DiamondRock Hospitality by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,535,384 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,806,000 after buying an additional 221,219 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in DiamondRock Hospitality by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 9,153,018 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $79,906,000 after purchasing an additional 317,901 shares in the last quarter. Rush Island Management LP purchased a new stake in DiamondRock Hospitality in the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,726,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,350,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,716,000 after buying an additional 28,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of DiamondRock Hospitality by 15.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,925,093 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,996,000 after acquiring an additional 663,529 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

DiamondRock Hospitality Company Profile

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.