| Seven is lucky for J.P. Morgan’s Joseph Greff; that’s the number of years he has held first place. “Greff is the best analyst on the Street covering gaming and lodging,” declares one ally. “He’s a crafty veteran who knows when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em.” The analyst says now is the time to buy Wyndham Worldwide Corp., owing to the Parsippany, New Jersey–based resort operator’s “continued capital return in stock buybacks, relatively low valuation and solid performance” of its timeshare business. The stock was selling at $52.14 at the end of August; Greff has a price target of $59. Another favorite: Hyatt Hotels Corp. The shares trailed the broad market by 11 percentage points year-to-date through August; as a result, the Chicago-based outfit has an unjustly low valuation, Greff says — especially for a company with cash flow growth (as measured by the change in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) that surpasses its peers’. He has a price target of $48, which is 26.5 percent above the stock’s trading level in late August. Greff, 42, “is at the top of the speed dial on the telephone for every industry CEO and CFO — he even has his own local phone number in Vegas,” cheers one fan. |
Consumer – Gaming & Lodging: First
October 16, 2012
