Short Interest in Playa Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:PLYA) Increases By 16.6%

Playa Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:PLYA) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,100,000 shares, an increase of 16.6% from the October 15th total of 5,230,000 shares. Currently, 7.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 999,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PLYA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts from $14.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Macquarie reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts from $12.00 to $10.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $8.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.40.

Playa Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLYA traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $9.49. 799,752 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,192,374. Playa Hotels & Resorts has a 1-year low of $6.95 and a 1-year high of $10.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $8.38 and a 200 day moving average of $8.29.

Institutional Trading of Playa Hotels & Resorts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts by 0.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,673,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,379,000 after purchasing an additional 63,595 shares during the period. Long Pond Capital LP increased its stake in Playa Hotels & Resorts by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Long Pond Capital LP now owns 3,991,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,487,000 after buying an additional 518,316 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Playa Hotels & Resorts by 12.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,425,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,348,000 after buying an additional 264,275 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Playa Hotels & Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth $6,032,000. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings 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 valued at $3,326,000 after acquiring an additional 5,154 shares in the last quarter. 74.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Playa Hotels & Resorts

Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V., together with its subsidiaries, owns, develops, and operates resorts in prime beachfront locations in Mexico and the Caribbean. It owns and manages Hyatt Zilara Cancún, Hyatt Ziva Cancún, Wyndham Alltra Cancún, Wyndham Alltra Playa del Carmen, Hilton Playa del Carmen All-Inclusive Resort, Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta, and Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos located in Mexico; Hyatt Zilara Rose Hall, Hyatt Ziva Rose Hall, Hilton Rose Hall Resort & Spa, Jewel Grande Montego Bay Resort & Spa, and Jewel Paradise Cove Beach Resort & Spa situated in Jamaica; the Hilton La Romana All-Inclusive Family Resort, the Hilton La Romana All-Inclusive Adult Resort, Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana, Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana, and Jewel Palm Beach located in the Dominican Republic; and manages resorts on behalf of third-party owners.