According to the Aggregated Portfolio of Gurus, a Premium feature of GuruFocus based on 13F equity portfolio filings, five leisure and lodging stocks broadly owned by gurus include Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT, Financial), Marriott International Inc. (MAR, Financial), H World Group Ltd. (HTHT, Financial), Vista Outdoor Inc. (VSTO, Financial) and Johnson Outdoors Inc. (JOUT, Financial).
On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that total nonfarm payrolls increased by 236,000 during March, down from the consensus estimate of 238,000 jobs added and the upwardly revised 326,000 jobs added in February.
Despite the overall job market slowing down, the leisure and hospitality sector led sectors with 72,000 jobs added. As the spring travel season takes off, investors may find opportunities in leisure and hospitality stocks with high guru ownership.
The guru ownership statistics discussed in this article are based on fourth-quarter 2022 13F equity portfolio filings. Investors should be aware 13F filings do not give a complete picture of a firm’s holdings as the reports only include its positions in U.S. stocks and American depository receipts, but they can still provide valuable information. Further, the reports only reflect trades and holdings as of the most-recent portfolio filing date, which may or may not be held by the reporting firm today or even when this article was published.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings
Thirteen gurus own shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT, Financial) with a combined weighting of 18.31%.
Shares of Hilton traded around $140.63 on Thursday, showing the stock is modestly undervalued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.89.
The McLean, Virgina-based lodging company has a GF Score of 72 out of 100 based on a momentum rank of 10 out of 10, a profitability rank of 7 out of 10, a GF Value rank of 6 out of 10, a financial strength rank of 4 out of 10 and a growth rank of 2 out of 10.
Hilton’s profitability ranks 7 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a high Piotroski F-score of 7 out of 10 and an operating margin that outperforms approximately 88% of global competitors.
Despite having good profitability, Hilton has a low growth rank on the back of revenue declining approximately 1% per year on average over the past three years and approximately 1.6% per year on average over the past five years.
Gurus with holdings in Hilton include Bill Ackman (Trades, Portfolio)’s Pershing Square and Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)’ Renaissance Technologies.
Marriott
Eleven gurus own shares of Marriott (MAR, Financial) with a combined weighting of 4.97%.
Shares of Marriott traded around $163.05 on Thursday, showing the stock is modestly undervalued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.81.
The Bethesda, Maryland-based hotel giant has a GF Score of 75 out of 100 based on a momentum rank of 8 out of 10, a financial strength rank of 4 out of 10, a growth rank of 3 out of 10 and a rank of 7 out of 10 for GF Value and profitability.
Marriott’s profitability ranks 7 out of 10 on several positive investing signs, which include a high Piotroski F-score of 8 out of 9 and an operating margin that has increased by approximately 1% per year over the past five years and outperforms approximately 77% of global competitors.
Gurus with holdings in Marriott include Renaissance Technologies and the Harbor Capital Appreciation Fund (Trades, Portfolio).
H World Group
Nine gurus own shares of H World Group (HTHT, Financial) with a combined weighting of 2.62%.
Shares of H World Group traded around $50.12 on Thursday, showing the stock is fairly valued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 1.02.
The Shanghai-based hotel company has a GF Score of 70 out of 100 based on a rank of 5 out of 10 for growth and GF Value, a profitability rank of 7 out of 10 and a rank of 3 out of 10 for momentum and financial strength.
H World’s financial strength ranks just 3 out of 10 on several warning signs, which include a low Altman Z-score of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio that underperforms more than 90% of global competitors.
Gurus with holdings in H World Group include Al Gore (Trades, Portfolio)’s Generation Investment Management and Mason Hawkins (Trades, Portfolio)’ Southeastern Asset Management.
Vista Outdoor
Eight gurus own shares of Vista Outdoor (VSTO, Financial) with a combined weighting of 0.24%.
Shares of Vista Outdoor traded around $25.82 on Thursday, showing the stock is significantly undervalued based on its price-to-GF Value ratio of 0.68.
The Anoka, Minnesota-based outdoor products company has a GF Score of 75 out of 100 based on a GF Value rank of 10 out of 10, a momentum rank of 7 out of 10, a profitability rank of 6 out of 10, a financial strength rank of 5 out of 10 and a growth rank of 3 out of 10.
Vista Outdoor’s profitability ranks 6 out of 10 on the back of operating margins increasing by approximately 34% per year on average over the past five years despite the company having just six years of positive net income over the past decade.
Gurus with holdings in Vista Outdoor include Hotchkis & Wiley and Renaissance Technologies.
Johnson Outdoors
Eight gurus own shares of Johnson Outdoors (JOUT, Financial) with a combined weighting of 0.65%.
Shares of Johnson Outdoors traded around $60.36 on Thursday, approximately 58% of its GF Value.
GuruFocus’ GF Value Line labeled the stock a possible value trap due to the company’s low price-to-GF Value ratio and several warning signs, which include declining gross profit margins and a low Piotroski F-score of 2 out of 9.
Despite the warning signs, Johnson Outdoors has a GF Score of 92 out of 100 based on a momentum rank of 10 out of 10, a financial strength rank of 9 out of 10 and a rank of 8 out of 10 for profitability, growth and GF Value.
Gurus with holdings in Johnson Outdoors include Renaissance Technologies and Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio)’s Royce Investment Partners.
