Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt Downgraded By Goldman Sachs On Weak Demand Trends, Macro Jitters — Is Retail On The Same Page?

Goldman Sachs downgraded top U.S. hotel stocks Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (HLT), Marriott International, Inc. (MAR), and Hyatt Hotels Corp (H), citing weak demand trends and macroeconomic uncertainty.

The Wall Street research firm lowered its ratings on Hilton and Marriott to 'Neutral' from 'Buy', according to The Fly.

Hilton's price target was lowered to $235 from $296, and Marriott's to $245 from $313.

Goldman anticipates that ongoing macroeconomic volatility and consumer strain will act as a drag on the more "macro-sensitive segments."

It considers Marriott and Hilton to have top-tier business models, marked by robust balance sheets. 

However, with the stocks' valuations still above 2016-2019 and consensus estimates "still too high," the risk/rewards are more balanced here, according to the analyst.

Goldman downgraded Hyatt to 'Sell' from 'Neutral' and cut its price target to $110 from $150. It said it was "slightly more cautious" than peers due to Hyatt's higher mix of management contracts, China exposure, and limited embedded growth in the in-construction pipeline.

However, the hotel chain’s shift to an asset-light fees model over the last few years is seen as a positive.

On Stocktwits, user sentiment was most positive toward Hilton, landing in the "extremely bullish" category. 

In contrast, sentiment for Hyatt was "neutral," while Marriott drew a more "bearish" outlook.

A user shared a Reddit post saying that European tourism was plummeting and pondered the impact on hospitality stocks, including Airbnb (ABNB).

https://stocktwits.com/Pfreakstocks/message/611546256 

Hilton shares are down 15% year to date, while Marriott is down 19.9%, and Hyatt is down 30.5%.

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