Wyndham adds a flagship brand

Article Excerpt

WYNDHAM WORLDWIDE CORP. $113 (New York symbol WYN; Cyclical-Growth Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares o/s: 101.3 million; Market cap: $11.4 billion; Divd. yield: 2.3%; Divd. Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.wyndhamwortldwide.com) raised its quarterly dividend by 13.8%, with the March 2018 payment. Investors receive $0.66 a share, which makes for a yearly yield of 2.3%. The company recently agreed to buy the hotel franchise and management businesses of La Quinta Holdings (New York symbol LQ) for $1.95 billion. Under the terms of the deal, Wyndham will acquire those businesses only after La Quinta spins off its real-estate assets as CorePoint Lodging Inc. The La Quinta acquisition adds the management of 900 hotels to Wyndham’s portfolio and the La Quinta brand will immediately become one of Wyndham’s flagship hotel names. Wyndham Worldwide is still a hold. hold…