The DJIA fell 367 points, a 250-point rebound from the lows, while Nasdaq was down 132, the S&P 500 was down 48 points and the real action is now in the 10-year treasury, down .14 at 3.44%. Lodging stocks were mixed with MAR jumping 5% and bringing a few C-Corps up with them. AHT was down -6%.
Marriott International blew away estimates and like Hilton, reported a great earnings report on a not-so-great day in the market. Despite that, they were able to rally and take Hilton and Hyatt with them despite the carnage around them. MAR did a beat and raise, had a modest increase to their pipeline, had positive comments on Asia and not much that could be interpreted as negative by a skeptical market. Increasing their capital return guidance did not help either, now expecting $3.6 to $4.1 billion. MAR returned $2.9 billion to shareholders in 2019 via dividends and share repurchases. MAR, which closed on the City Express brand purchase yesterday, adding about 17,000 rooms in the Caribbean and Latin American region, also said in a few weeks they would be announcing a simple, streamlined, basic service and amenities, new build extended-stay product. MAR was up $8.47 per share, H was up $3.53 per share and HLT was up $1.32.
Ashford Hospitality Trust reported 1Q results, more or less in line with expectations on the hotel level. AHT warned that renovation disruption will accelerate in the second half of the year with up to 15 hotels under renovation by 4Q.
EF Hutton cut their price target on Selina Hospitality to $6 from $6.50. They maintained their Buy rating.
Marriott, Hilton and IHG continue to dominate the U.S. hotel construction pipeline according to the recently released United States Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics. Marriott International tops the charts with the greatest number of projects in the U.S. hot