DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) to Issue Dividend Increase – $0.08 Per Share

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 27th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of 0.08 per share by the real estate investment trust on Friday, April 11th. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. This is a positive change from DiamondRock Hospitality’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03.

DiamondRock Hospitality has a dividend payout ratio of 191.7% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect DiamondRock Hospitality to earn $1.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 90.2%.

DiamondRock Hospitality Price Performance

NYSE:DRH traded up $0.04 on Friday, reaching $8.21. 6,888,378 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,730,481. DiamondRock Hospitality has a 12 month low of $7.74 and a 12 month high of $10.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $10.75 to $10.25 in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Evercore ISI cut DiamondRock Hospitality from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $10.50 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com raised DiamondRock Hospitality from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.50 to $9.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, DiamondRock Hospitality currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.05.

About DiamondRock Hospitality

DiamondRock Hospitality Company is a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) that is an owner of a leading portfolio of geographically diversified hotels concentrated in leisure destinations and top gateway markets. The Company currently owns 36 premium quality hotels with over 9,700 rooms. The Company has strategically positioned its portfolio to be operated both under leading global brand families as well as independent boutique hotels in the lifestyle segment.