THE Meliá Hotels Action It has fallen by 17% since the beginning of June and the first days of rest in the middle of the high summer season. The hotel company returns from vacation with news of its departure from the Ibex 35 in your suitcase, which can work against you when it comes to being included on the lists of managers and investment funds. However, analyst firms still consider the company to be one of the best valued in the sector and in which they place their best buy recommendation since August 2022.
A priori, Meliá Hotels will continue to take its next steps outside the Ibex 35, since it would not meet the criteria to access the Spanish selective again. In fact, during this Thursday’s review, no changes were made to the composition of the index with the 35 reference companies of the Spanish stock exchange. But the company has also focused on leisure and tourism He has a trip outside the Ibex 35according to market expectations.
In the final stages of the quarter that brings the most revenue to Meliá, analysts predict promising results in a summer in which hotel demand has remained high and an increase in profit margins is also expected. These same forecasts have allowed the company to revise upwards its own estimate of gross operating income (Ebitda) for over the whole of 2024 by 7% to reach the figure of 525 million euros. However, the market consensus collected by FactSet estimates that this figure will be largely exceeded given that the EBITDA for the whole of the current year would be around 530 million euros. With this gross operating profit, Meliá would approach the multiple net debt (before rent) / EBITDA of less than 2.5 times that sought by the company.
The market places in the months between July and September the possibility of recording a profit per share of 0.26 euros, representing a growth of more than 13% compared to the same period last year. This has led many companies, such as Renta 4, to Raise your course target before summer and given the good tourist demand in the main destinations where Meliá is present. But the same volatility that has affected global stocks has had negative consequences on the hotel company’s stock price. Furthermore, the Announcement of replacement of hotel company by Puig Within the Ibex 35, this also led to the closing of positions by market operators.
However, the consensus price target remains around 8.7 euros per share as Meliá “has good prospects“not only in the short term, but also in the medium and long term,” commented Bankinter. With a target price of 8.68 euros, according to FactSet, Meliá Hotels has an upside potential of 35%.
With this potential and its buy recommendation, there is no hotel company with greater trading room experience in the European market, according to analyst firms. In addition, Meliá is listed with an average discount of 25% of the sector by recording a PER (times when net profit is included in the stock price) of 11 times. The other large hotel operator with a buy recommendation and potential (more than 25%) is Accor, although it trades here at a premium to the average by having a PER ratio above 17 times.
