Short Interest in Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE:TNL) Expands By 16.4%

Travel + Leisure Co. (NYSE:TNL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,560,000 shares, a growth of 16.4% from the February 13th total of 1,340,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 591,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George Herrera sold 6,336 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.80, for a total value of $296,524.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $129,121.20. This represents a 69.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael Dean Brown bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.66 per share, for a total transaction of $93,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 408,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,070,221.96. This represents a 0.49 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 4.02% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Trading of Travel + Leisure

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in Travel + Leisure during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Travel + Leisure by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 637 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Travel + Leisure by 314.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 663 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new position in Travel + Leisure in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Travel + Leisure by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 757 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 87.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Travel + Leisure Price Performance

Shares of TNL stock traded down $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 275,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 575,105. Travel + Leisure has a 1-year low of $39.91 and a 1-year high of $58.95. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $53.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.68. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.61.

Travel + Leisure (NYSE:TNL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $971.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $958.87 million. Travel + Leisure had a negative return on equity of 45.75% and a net margin of 10.63%. The company's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Travel + Leisure will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Travel + Leisure Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from Travel + Leisure's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Travel + Leisure's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Travel + Leisure from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America upgraded Travel + Leisure from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $40.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Travel + Leisure from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Travel + Leisure from $61.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Travel + Leisure from $56.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Travel + Leisure currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.70.

About Travel + Leisure

Travel + Leisure Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides hospitality services and travel products in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Vacation Ownership; and Travel and Membership. The Vacation Ownership segment develops, markets, and sells vacation ownership interests (VOIs) to individual consumers, as well as provides consumer financing in connection with the sale of VOIs; and property management services at resorts.