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Marriott (MAR) Stock up 14% in the Past Year: More Room to Run?
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Marriott International, Inc. (MAR - Free Report) is poised to benefit from its expansion initiatives, solid leisure demand and digitization efforts. Also, improvements in business transient and group demand are likely to have driven sales in the last few quarters.
In the past year, shares of Marriott have gained 14.4% compared with the industry’s 1.9% growth. The price performance was backed by solid earnings surprise history. Marriott’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the trailing four quarters. Earnings estimates for 2022 and 2023 have moved up 5.5% and 5.9% in the past 60 days, respectively. This positive trend signifies bullish analysts’ sentiments and justifies the company’s Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating robust fundamentals and the expectation of outperformance in the near term. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Factors Driving Growth
Expansion Efforts: Marriott is consistently trying to expand its presence worldwide and capitalize on the demand for hotels in the international markets. Moving ahead, the company plans to significantly expand its global portfolio of luxury and lifestyle brands. At the end of fourth-quarter 2021, Marriott's development pipeline totaled nearly 2,831 hotels, with approximately 485,000 rooms. Nearly 202,000 rooms were under construction. During fourth-quarter 2021, the company added 120 new properties (20,440 rooms) to its worldwide lodging portfolio. In 2022, Marriott anticipates net rooms growth in the range of 3.5-4%. The hotel company is also trying to strengthen its presence outside the United States, especially in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. The company’s European pipeline is growing consistently, which is likely to sustain going ahead.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Improvement in Demand: The company witnessed a steady increase in demand throughout fourth-quarter 2021. Although the Omicron variant affected bookings (during January 2022), demand is stated to have picked up and rebounded to pre-Omicron levels. During the fourth quarter, the company witnessed higher demand in the Middle East and Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America and Europe. MAR is gaining from the reopening of the international borders and leniency in travel restrictions. The company announced that bookings in the quarter were up 45% from 2019 levels. The upside was primarily driven by improvements in business transient and group demand along with solid leisure demand. With global trends improving, the company expects the recovery momentum to continue in the upcoming periods as well.
Digitization Initiatives: Digital innovation and social media are playing important roles in hotel bookings and Marriot isn’t far behind to improvise. The company re-imagined its Marriott Mobile app to meet the needs of the modern traveler. The company’s loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy, has been playing a supporting role in its marketing strategies. With nearly 157 million members globally, the company’s loyalty program Marriott Bonvoy plays a crucial role in supporting its marketing strategies. The company is focused on non-hotel stay experiences such as Eat Around Town and Homes and Villas by Marriott International. Despite making an immaterial impact on the company’s financials, the initiative allows Bonvoy members to earn and redeem points through its 30,000 listings.
Given a rebound in the global travel scenario, the company is focused on fostering engagement with its members. During third-quarter 2021, the company implemented several loyalty program updates, including status, award and point extensions. Also, it rolled out special promotions, including its second annual Week of Wonders and the relaunch of Marriott Bonvoy Moments. As bookings from digital channels continue to increase, we believe that the roll out of such offerings is an appropriate move.
Funko sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. FNKO has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 96.2%, on average. Shares of FNKO have declined 16.4% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FNKO’s current financial-year sales and EPS (earnings per share) suggests growth of 22.7% and 26.8%, respectively, from the corresponding year-ago period’s levels.
JAKKS Pacific sports a Zacks Rank #1. JAKK has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 63.1%, on average. Shares of the company have surged 102.2% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for JAKK’s current financial-year sales and EPS indicates growth of 4.4% and 8.5%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
Bluegreen Vacations presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). BVH has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 425.1%, on average. The stock has surged 68.1% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BVH’s current financial-year sales and EPS indicates growth of 8.3% and 20.8%, respectively, from the corresponding year-ago period’s levels.
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Marriott (MAR) Stock up 14% in the Past Year: More Room to Run?
Marriott International, Inc. (MAR - Free Report) is poised to benefit from its expansion initiatives, solid leisure demand and digitization efforts. Also, improvements in business transient and group demand are likely to have driven sales in the last few quarters.
In the past year, shares of Marriott have gained 14.4% compared with the industry’s 1.9% growth. The price performance was backed by solid earnings surprise history. Marriott’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all of the trailing four quarters. Earnings estimates for 2022 and 2023 have moved up 5.5% and 5.9% in the past 60 days, respectively. This positive trend signifies bullish analysts’ sentiments and justifies the company’s Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating robust fundamentals and the expectation of outperformance in the near term. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Factors Driving Growth
Expansion Efforts: Marriott is consistently trying to expand its presence worldwide and capitalize on the demand for hotels in the international markets. Moving ahead, the company plans to significantly expand its global portfolio of luxury and lifestyle brands. At the end of fourth-quarter 2021, Marriott's development pipeline totaled nearly 2,831 hotels, with approximately 485,000 rooms. Nearly 202,000 rooms were under construction. During fourth-quarter 2021, the company added 120 new properties (20,440 rooms) to its worldwide lodging portfolio. In 2022, Marriott anticipates net rooms growth in the range of 3.5-4%. The hotel company is also trying to strengthen its presence outside the United States, especially in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. The company’s European pipeline is growing consistently, which is likely to sustain going ahead.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Improvement in Demand: The company witnessed a steady increase in demand throughout fourth-quarter 2021. Although the Omicron variant affected bookings (during January 2022), demand is stated to have picked up and rebounded to pre-Omicron levels. During the fourth quarter, the company witnessed higher demand in the Middle East and Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America and Europe. MAR is gaining from the reopening of the international borders and leniency in travel restrictions. The company announced that bookings in the quarter were up 45% from 2019 levels. The upside was primarily driven by improvements in business transient and group demand along with solid leisure demand. With global trends improving, the company expects the recovery momentum to continue in the upcoming periods as well.
Digitization Initiatives: Digital innovation and social media are playing important roles in hotel bookings and Marriot isn’t far behind to improvise. The company re-imagined its Marriott Mobile app to meet the needs of the modern traveler. The company’s loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy, has been playing a supporting role in its marketing strategies. With nearly 157 million members globally, the company’s loyalty program Marriott Bonvoy plays a crucial role in supporting its marketing strategies. The company is focused on non-hotel stay experiences such as Eat Around Town and Homes and Villas by Marriott International. Despite making an immaterial impact on the company’s financials, the initiative allows Bonvoy members to earn and redeem points through its 30,000 listings.
Given a rebound in the global travel scenario, the company is focused on fostering engagement with its members. During third-quarter 2021, the company implemented several loyalty program updates, including status, award and point extensions. Also, it rolled out special promotions, including its second annual Week of Wonders and the relaunch of Marriott Bonvoy Moments. As bookings from digital channels continue to increase, we believe that the roll out of such offerings is an appropriate move.
Other Key Picks
Some other top-ranked stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector include Funko, Inc. (FNKO - Free Report) , JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (JAKK - Free Report) and Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corporation .
Funko sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. FNKO has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 96.2%, on average. Shares of FNKO have declined 16.4% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FNKO’s current financial-year sales and EPS (earnings per share) suggests growth of 22.7% and 26.8%, respectively, from the corresponding year-ago period’s levels.
JAKKS Pacific sports a Zacks Rank #1. JAKK has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 63.1%, on average. Shares of the company have surged 102.2% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for JAKK’s current financial-year sales and EPS indicates growth of 4.4% and 8.5%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s levels.
Bluegreen Vacations presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). BVH has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 425.1%, on average. The stock has surged 68.1% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BVH’s current financial-year sales and EPS indicates growth of 8.3% and 20.8%, respectively, from the corresponding year-ago period’s levels.