Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE:HT) has been making waves in the investment world. The company’s stock has recently received a consensus rating of “Hold” from nine research firms that are currently covering it, as per Bloomberg reports. This information may provide solace to investors, signalling stability.
Out of these nine research firms, one analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the past year is $10.70, presenting potential profitability for investors.
Hersha Hospitality Trust also recently declared its quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 17th. Investors who were on record as of Friday, March 31st received $0.05 per share. This represents an annualized dividend payout of $0.20 and a yield of 3.13%. Investors looking for stable dividends should take note of this announcement.
The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 30th – presented ample time for interested parties to make investment decisions accordingly.
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added or reduced their stakes in Hersha Hospitality Trust’s shares. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased new stakes in shares during Q2 2019 worth approximately $30,000 USD while Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake by 710% during Q3 2019 and now owns 4,034 shares at present valued at $32,000 USD after purchasing an additional 3,536 shares in Q4 last year.
Likewise,T he Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky invested a new stake worth approximately $36k USD while Lazard Asset Management and UBS Group AG both purchased new stakes during Q4 2019 amounting to nearly $43k USD and $45k USD respectively.
The implications for investors could be agog from an empirical review of the above stock analysis. The hedge funds and other institutional investors currently own approximately 65.29% of the firm’s prevalent in circulation today, representing potentially significant market confidence.
In sum, Hersha Hospitality Trust appears to present a viable opportunity for potential profit while offering stability through stable dividends – an excellent proposition for safety-oriented investors looking to diversify their portfolios.
Mixed Reviews and Uncertainty Surround Hersha Hospitality Trust
A Mixed Bag of Reviews for Hersha Hospitality Trust
Recently, Hersha Hospitality Trust has been receiving a string of reviews from various equities analysts. The hotel real estate trust company has been the focus of studies and reports issued by prominent research firms.
B. Riley Financial and StockNews.com both issued “neutral” ratings for the company on February 24th and March 16th respectively, while Barclays’ research report released on January 10th gave Hersha Hospitality Trust an “underweight” rating, lowering its price target from $10 to $9. Wells Fargo & Company also gave the company an “equal weight” rating while simultaneously reducing its price targets from $10 to $7 on March 30th.
These ratings are crucial indicators of how well Hersha Hospitality Trust will fare in the market, as it is a measure of investor confidence in their future. Naturally, investors would flock towards companies that have been given optimistic ratings by analysts, but with all these mixed opinions about Hersha Hospitality Trust, what does it spell for potential investors?
One factor that could ease potential investor’s qualms about the company’s future despite the seemingly negative litany of “neutral,” “underweight,” and “equal weight” ratings is Director Thomas J. Hutchison III’s recent acquisition of 5,000 shares of the company worth $42,800 on February 23rd at an average price per share of $8.56. Hutchison now holds an impressive number–151,319– which is valued at $1.29 million.
Despite this purchase and his representation that he still believes in Hersha Hospitality Trust’s value as a company even amidst criticism by industry analysts may not be enough to please skeptics who have their doubts about investing in companies with multiple negative assessments.
As of Tuesday Heresh Hospitality Trust opened with a share price of $6.40; these figures convey marked volatility given that recently they have seen both a 52-week low of $5.76 and a year high of $12.15. If we add these numbers up, chances look good for investors who are willing to take risks despite the gloomy verdict by most research firms.
In conclusion, while Hersha Hospitality Trust currently appears to be facing unfavorable reviews from equities analysts, some investors may determine that its risk-adjusted performance relative to overall stock market returns based on its past might balance out future uncertainty. Nonetheless, this does not eliminate the potential risks that come along with purchasing stocks in companies that balance at the edge of uncertainty.
