H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) Short Interest Up 5.0% in September

H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,260,000 shares, a growth of 5.0% from the August 31st total of 10,720,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,780,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On H World Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of H World Group by 1.8% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 36,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,419,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in H World Group by 716.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of H World Group by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 18,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,609 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of H World Group by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 25,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of H World Group by 22.6% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. 46.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

H World Group Stock Performance

Shares of H World Group stock opened at $37.20 on Tuesday. H World Group has a 52 week low of $27.03 and a 52 week high of $42.21. The company has a market capitalization of $12.15 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

H World Group (NASDAQ:HTHT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.52 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $846.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $839.89 million. H World Group had a return on equity of 29.32% and a net margin of 16.32%. As a group, analysts expect that H World Group will post 1.81 earnings per share for the current year.

H World Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a yield of 3.9%. H World Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of H World Group from $64.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.80.

H World Group Company Profile

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.