China Lodging Group Limited Stock Upgraded (HTHT)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- China Lodging Group (Nasdaq:HTHT) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from sell to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, increase in net income and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself and disappointing return on equity.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The revenue growth greatly exceeded the industry average of 0.8%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 45.7%. This growth in revenue appears to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, improving the earnings per share.
• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry. The net income increased by 78.5% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $6.21 million to $11.08 million.
• HTHT's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.00 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels. Despite the fact that HTHT's debt-to-equity ratio is low, the quick ratio, which is currently 0.69, displays a potential problem in covering short-term cash needs.
• HTHT has underperformed the S&P 500 Index, declining 18.71% from its price level of one year ago. Looking ahead, we do not see anything in this company's numbers that would change the one-year trend. It was down over the last twelve months; and it could be down again in the next twelve. Naturally, a bull or bear market could sway the movement of this stock.
• The company's current return on equity has slightly decreased from the same quarter one year prior. This implies a minor weakness in the organization. In comparison to the other companies in the Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure industry and the overall market, CHINA LODGING GROUP LTD -ADR's return on equity is significantly below that of the industry average and is below that of the S&P 500.

China Lodging Group, Limited, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, franchises, and manages a chain of limited-service hotels. The company has a P/E ratio of 48.5, above the average leisure industry P/E ratio of 47.3 and above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. China Lodging Group has a market cap of $881.9 million and is part of the services sector and leisure industry. Shares are up 2.8% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

You can view the full China Lodging Group Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model

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