InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG) Short Interest Up 66.4% in April

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (NYSE:IHG) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 440,400 shares, a growth of 66.4% from the March 31st total of 264,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 181,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut InterContinental Hotels Group from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Societe Generale downgraded InterContinental Hotels Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut InterContinental Hotels Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered InterContinental Hotels Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

InterContinental Hotels Group Stock Up 0.2 %

IHG stock opened at $100.93 on Monday. InterContinental Hotels Group has a one year low of $65.22 and a one year high of $112.08. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $104.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.90.

InterContinental Hotels Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.04 per share. This is an increase from InterContinental Hotels Group’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.48. This represents a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On InterContinental Hotels Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IHG. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in InterContinental Hotels Group by 41.3% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 632,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,546,000 after purchasing an additional 185,045 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in InterContinental Hotels Group by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 617,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,265,000 after buying an additional 40,358 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in InterContinental Hotels Group by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 617,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,123,000 after purchasing an additional 12,902 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 18.2% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 121,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,865,000 after buying an additional 18,716 shares during the period. Finally, Henry James International Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of InterContinental Hotels Group by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Henry James International Management Inc. now owns 107,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,071,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.