InterContinental Hotels Group (NYSE:IHG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 412,476 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 127% from the previous session’s volume of 181,826 shares.The stock last traded at $98.13 and had previously closed at $97.30.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of InterContinental Hotels Group in a research note on Monday, February 24th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of InterContinental Hotels Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of InterContinental Hotels Group from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

InterContinental Hotels Group Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $14.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.01.

InterContinental Hotels Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.144 per share. This is a positive change from InterContinental Hotels Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.53. This represents a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. InterContinental Hotels Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On InterContinental Hotels Group

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IHG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 29.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 320,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,388,000 after purchasing an additional 73,361 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $262,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in InterContinental Hotels Group by 120.2% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 4,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in InterContinental Hotels Group by 6.7% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 17,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 15.09% of the company’s stock.

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.