Wyndham's Hotel Group Announces Acquisition of Fen Hotels

Shares of hotel company Wyndham Worldwide Corporation WYN had been underperforming the Zacks categorized Hotels & Motels industry by recording a dip of 12.8% since the beginning of year to Oct 26, while the industry grew 4.7%.

The company’s better-than-expected third-quarter results, as declared on Oct 26, however, changed the story. After reporting the said results, shares of the company outperformed the industry by recording growth of 16.6% till today, compared with the industry’s growth of 13.7%.

Recently, the company announced another news that has the potential to impact its performance further – the acquisition of Latin America's leading Fen Hotels by Wyndham Hotel Group.

Prospects

The said acquisition is expected to add 26 management contracts across locations like Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, and the U.S. including two new Fen-built Wyndham Grand hotels opening in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Asunción, Paraguay. Notably, Wyndham Hotel Group's portfolio of brands will grow to 18 with the addition of Fen Hotels' Esplendor Boutique Hotels and Dazzler Hotels.

Wyndham Hotel Group, one of three hospitality business units of Wyndham Worldwide, currently has the highest number of hotels in the world to its name. Being a leading hotel brand franchisor and hotel management services provider, the company's global portfolio consists of nearly 8,000 hotels and approximately 689,800 rooms across 75 countries.

Wyndham Hotel Group seeks to grow its worldwide management operations and distribution system as it looks for new development opportunities and tactical brand acquisitions globally. Last year, it completed the buyout of Dolce Hotels and Resorts, a leading provider and manager of group accommodations across seven countries in Europe and North America.

Latin America is slated to witness major economic growth, as is reflected in its increasing infrastructure projects, foreign investments and a growing consumer spending ability. With the purchase of Fen Hotels, Wyndham is poised to leverage Latin America’s upsurge in accommodation demand as the target company has 22 existing hotels in six countries and a strong developmental pipeline throughout the region.

WYNDHAM WORLDWD Price

WYNDHAM WORLDWD Price | WYNDHAM WORLDWD Quote

Our Take

Traditionally after an acquisition, the shares of the acquirer witness a fall in price as the company incurs additional expenses for the purchase, and on-going operations are affected to an extent. However, long-term effects on the share price are generally expected to be favorable. We expect the case to be the same for Wyndham Worldwide as Fen Hotels will help it increase market share and add to its top line.

However, the company is susceptible to greater foreign exchange headwinds and political uncertainty that comes with increasing international presence, similar to other hoteliers like Marriott International, Inc. MAR, Hyatt Hotels Corporation H and Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc. HLT.
 
Wyndham Worldwide currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Zacks’ Best Private Investment Ideas

In addition to the recommendations that are available to the public on our website, how would you like to follow all Zacks' private buys and sells in real time?

Our experts cover all kinds of trades… from value to momentum . . . from stocks under $10 to ETF and option moves . . . from stocks that corporate insiders are buying up to companies that are about to report positive earnings surprises. You can even look inside exclusive portfolios that are normally closed to new investors. Starting today, for the next month, you can have unrestricted access. Click here for Zacks' private trades >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
WYNDHAM WORLDWD (WYN): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
MARRIOTT INTL-A (MAR): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
HYATT HOTELS CP (H): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
HILTON WW HLDG (HLT): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research