IPO Watch: Hyatt Shares Soar in Debut

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Hyatt Hotels(MAR Quote) is rising by double digits in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

In one of the more anticipated IPO's of the year, the hotel operator issued 38 million shares priced at $25 each. The IPO garned $950 million.

By midafternoon, they were changing hands at about $28, or an increase of exactly 12% from their opening price.

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While the finicky IPO market has caused heartache for some companies who've been forced to price shares below expectations, Hyatt's shares were initially priced slightly above the midpoint of their expected range of $23 and $26 each.

Granted, Hyatt isn't expect to receive much capital from the deal, as the Pritzker family is the sole selling shareholder. Hyatt will, however, receive proceeds from a 5.7 million allotment of shares, which would raise $142.5 million, according to Morningstar.

Hyatt will compete on the market with other hotel operators, like Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide(STWD Quote), which owns Sheraton hotels, and Marriott International(MAR Quote).

On Monday, the hotel operator said its hotel occupancy rates are finally stabilizing. The company expects this trend to continue.

It does, however, foresee continued pressure on average room rates, as the unstable economy makes it difficult to predict future demand in the industry.

Hyatt said its revpar dropped 22% in the first nine months of the year, while revenue fell 17% to $2.44 billion. The company swung to a loss of $31 million, compared with a profit of $310 million, during the same time last year.