Topic: Growth Stocks

Stock Pickers Digest Hotline – Friday, October 25, 2013

Article Excerpt

WYNDHAM WORLDWIDE CORP., $67.35, symbol WYN on New York, reported higher revenue and earnings in the latest quarter, and the shares rose to a new all-time high. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, the hotel and resort operator’s revenue rose 12.8%, to $1.43 billion from $1.27 billion a year earlier. The company gets most of its revenue from vacation rather than business travel, and vacation bookings rose in the latest quarter. That helped push up Wyndham’s occupancy rate by 1.9%. Before one-time items, earnings rose 24.8%, to $1.41 a share from $1.13. The company continues to buy back its stock. In the latest quarter, it repurchased 2.7 million shares for $160 million. In 2012, it bought back 12.9 million shares for $623 million. To further boost its revenue, Wyndham has invested heavily in its online booking systems. It is also expanding in fast-growing markets like Asia and Latin America. Earlier this year, the company increased its quarterly dividend by 26.1%, to $0.29…