Topic: Growth Stocks

WYNDHAM WORLDWIDE $75.00 – New York symbol WYN

WYNDHAM WORLDWIDE $75.00 (New York symbol WYN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (973- 753-6000; www.wyndhamworldwide.com; Shares outstanding: 130.3 million; Market cap: $9.7 billion; Dividend yield: 1.6%) is one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, with 7,410 franchised hotels worldwide.

Wyndham also manages vacation resorts, rental properties, luxury clubs and time-shares. The company now has over 106,000 vacation-rental properties in 100 countries.

In the three months ended September 30, 2013, Wyndham’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 raise its occupancy rate by 1.9%.

Before one-time items, earnings gained 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.

The shares are hitting all-time highs, and Wyndham’s outlook is positive.

However, the company continues to grow quickly, including acquiring vacation resorts and adding new hotels. Wyndham’s goodwill and intangibles now stand at $2.7 billion, or 28% of its market cap. That leaves it vulnerable to writedowns if demand for vacation travel turns down suddenly.

Wyndham is a hold.

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