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

H World Group Limited (NASDAQ:HTHT) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of 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. Approximately 3.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,780,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days.

H World Group Price Performance

Shares of H World Group stock opened at $38.86 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.35. H World Group has a 12-month low of $27.03 and a 12-month high of $42.21. The firm has a market cap of $12.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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

H World Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a Variable dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Benchmark reduced their price objective 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.80.

Institutional Trading of H World Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HTHT. Capital Fund Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of H World Group by 98.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 209,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,006,000 after buying an additional 104,068 shares in the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in H World Group by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 1,222,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,872,000 after purchasing an additional 201,587 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its holdings in shares of H World Group by 137.4% in the 4th quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 37,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 21,979 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of H World Group by 80.5% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,500,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,067,000 after purchasing an additional 669,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of H World Group by 18.0% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 134,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,197,000 after purchasing an additional 20,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.41% of the company’s stock.

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.