Playa Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:PLYA) Short Interest Up 351.5% in February

Playa Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:PLYA) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,860,000 shares, an increase of 351.5% from the January 31st total of 3,070,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,640,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days. Currently, 15.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Playa Hotels & Resorts

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PLYA. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth $689,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts by 69.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 52,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 21,562 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts by 1.2% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 429,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,326,000 after buying an additional 5,154 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts by 59.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $202,000 after buying an additional 9,713 shares during the period. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts by 14.9% in the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 229,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,777,000 after buying an additional 29,700 shares during the period. 74.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Playa Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts stock traded up $0.03 on Friday, reaching $13.35. 3,061,579 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,665,456. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.14 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $12.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.06. The firm has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.54. Playa Hotels & Resorts has a 1-year low of $6.95 and a 1-year high of $13.38.

Playa Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:PLYA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.04. Playa Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 14.12% and a net margin of 6.84%. The firm had revenue of $218.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $212.26 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Playa Hotels & Resorts will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on PLYA shares. Macquarie lowered Playa Hotels & Resorts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Playa Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $15.00 to $13.50 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Playa Hotels & Resorts from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.10.

About Playa Hotels & Resorts

Playa Hotels & Resorts NV engages in the operation of hotels and resorts. The firm’s geographical segments include Yucatán Peninsula, Pacific Coast, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. It owns all-inclusive oceanfront resorts in Cancun, Los Cabos, Montego Bay, Puerto Vallarta, Playa del Carmen, and Cap Cana.