InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG) Short Interest Up 9.5% in October

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 517,000 shares, an increase of 9.5% from the September 30th total of 472,000 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 193,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

InterContinental Hotels Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IHG opened at $111.47 on Friday. InterContinental Hotels Group has a 52-week low of $71.01 and a 52-week high of $115.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $107.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.49.

InterContinental Hotels Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a dividend of $0.532 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a positive change from InterContinental Hotels Group’s previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.30. InterContinental Hotels Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded InterContinental Hotels Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, InterContinental Hotels Group has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Trading of InterContinental Hotels Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in InterContinental Hotels Group during the first quarter worth $223,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in InterContinental Hotels Group in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in InterContinental Hotels Group by 20.5% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 130.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after buying an additional 20,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. 15.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.