Short Interest in H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) Expands By 5.0%

H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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 stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,780,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On H World Group

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning raised its stake in H World Group by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of H World Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $673,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in H World Group by 2.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 348,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,621,000 after purchasing an additional 7,998 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in shares of H World Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $503,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of H World Group by 724.3% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 570,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,022,000 after buying an additional 501,634 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.41% of the company’s stock.

H World Group Stock Up 4.4 %

Shares of HTHT stock traded up $1.63 on Tuesday, hitting $38.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,446,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,853,426. H World Group has a 52-week low of $27.03 and a 52-week high of $42.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $29.90 and its 200-day moving average is $34.35.

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

H World Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a Variable dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. H World Group’s payout ratio is currently 75.16%.

About H World Group

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.