Morgan Stanley Increases PT on Ashford Hospitality Trust to $15, Maintians Overweight (AHT)

Morgan Stanley increased its price target on Ashford Hospitality Trust AHT to $15. At the same time, it left its rating unchanged at Overweight. In a research report published today, Morgan Stanley reiterated its optimism on Ashford's future. In the report, Morgan Stanley states, "We continue to view AHT as an attractive way to play the lodging recovery. In our view, AHT is an underappreciated growth story with a relatively inexpensive valuation. We believe investors underestimate the earnings growth potential of AHT driven by high financial and operating leverage. While quarterly results can be choppy relative to expectations without any guidance and a regular capital recycling program, we expect AHT's FFO to grow by 60% over the next two years. In our view, the cyclical growth story is strong enough to make the stock appealing, however we also expect AHT to increase its dividend within the next 2 quarters, providing a positive catalyst." In yesterday's trading, Ashford lost 2.01% of its value to close the day at $12.67.