Extended Stay America (NYSE:STAY) Reaches New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Extended Stay America, Inc. (NYSE:STAY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on the stock from $17.00 to $19.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a buy rating on the stock. Extended Stay America traded as high as $14.93 and last traded at $14.82, with a volume of 15964 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.68.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Extended Stay America from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. BidaskClub upgraded shares of Extended Stay America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 5th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Extended Stay America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $13.50 to $15.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Extended Stay America from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 24th. Finally, Smith Barney Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Extended Stay America from $11.50 to $15.50 in a research note on Tuesday, December 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Extended Stay America currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.45.

In related news, Director Richard F. Wallman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.28, for a total transaction of $245,600.00. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Extended Stay America by 2.2% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,484,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,339,000 after acquiring an additional 206,658 shares during the period. FMR LLC acquired a new position in Extended Stay America during the second quarter worth $73,942,000. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Extended Stay America during the second quarter worth $859,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Extended Stay America by 8.0% during the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 817,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,145,000 after purchasing an additional 60,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC acquired a new position in Extended Stay America during the second quarter worth $2,049,000. Institutional investors own 96.67% of the company’s stock.

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $12.60.

Extended Stay America (NYSE:STAY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $285.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.37 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share.

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This is a boost from Extended Stay America’s previous dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 5th.

Extended Stay America Company Profile (NYSE:STAY)

Extended Stay America, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns, operates, develops, and manages hotels in the United States. As of November 20, 2020, the company had a network of 646 hotels. It serves customers in the mid-priced extended stay segment. The company also licenses Extended Stay America brand to third party franchisees.

Further Reading: Is it Safe to Invest in Commodities?