Park Hotels & Resorts Inc

Raymond James analyst RJ Milligan upgraded Park Hotels & Resorts to Strong Buy from Market Perform, citing third-quarter RevPAR strength across the lodging REIT sector and expectations for continued growth, with a $19 per share target price implying 23% upside to Friday's close. Milligan said Park Hotels' valuation remains attractive even after the stock's 48% gain this year, pointing to specific 2027 EBITDA drivers including the reopening and ramp of Royal Palm and continued improvement in Hawaii. The upgrade reflects a more bullish outlook for the entire lodging REIT sector ahead of Q3 results, with Milligan anticipating increases to FY26 guidance on EBITDA inflection, a healthy consumer, minimal new supply and improving sentiment. He raised his RevPAR and EBITDA estimates across the board and said he still sees an additional 10-20% upside for the sector from here, which he considers attractive relative to other REIT sectors given broader interest rate headwinds. In the same note, Milligan downgraded RLJ Lodging Trust to Market Perform from Outperform, citing a less compelling valuation and more attractive risk/reward opportunities elsewhere in the sector. Park Hotels shares moved higher on Monday, while RLJ Lodging Trust traded nearly 1% lower.

Park Hotels & Resorts raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to a range of $617 million to $637 million, up from the prior $587 million to $617 million, while also lifting its RevPAR growth outlook to 3% to 4.5%. The company reported second-quarter hotel adjusted EBITDA of $204 million, a nearly 9% increase, and adjusted FFO per share of $0.70. Total portfolio RevPAR rose nearly 6% to $217, and management highlighted the July 22 reopening of the Royal Palm South Beach after a more than $100 million redevelopment, which it believes could double the hotel's EBITDA upon stabilization over the next two years. Park also noted it has sold or disposed of 10 of the 19 identified non-core hotels since early 2025, generating nearly $200 million in proceeds, and plans to fully repay the $1.27 billion Hilton Hawaiian Village mortgage in September.