DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) Raises Dividend to $0.08 Per Share

DiamondRock Hospitality (NYSE:DRH) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 28th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 28th. This is a boost from DiamondRock Hospitality’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03.

DiamondRock Hospitality has a payout ratio of 191.7% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. 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

DRH stock traded up $0.04 on Friday, hitting $8.21. 6,888,378 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,691,681. The stock has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.57. DiamondRock Hospitality has a 1-year low of $7.74 and a 1-year high of $10.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $8.80 and a 200-day moving average of $8.86.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on DiamondRock Hospitality from $10.50 to $9.50 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI downgraded DiamondRock Hospitality from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and set a $10.50 target price 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 note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of DiamondRock Hospitality from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $10.75 to $10.25 in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 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.