New York, May 30, 2026, 11:01 (EDT)
DiamondRock Hospitality Co. shares slipped Friday, though the hotel REIT posted a gain for the holiday-shortened week. The stock is trading close to a one-year high, and investors are trying to gauge how much positive news is already priced in.
DRH ended Friday’s session at $10.99 on Nasdaq, slipping 1.61%. Shares hit $11.27 earlier in the day. Compared to last Friday’s close at $10.71, DRH is up about 2.6% over the four-session week. U.S. equity markets stayed closed Monday for Memorial Day. Nasdaq trades Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern.
The stock isn’t getting priced as a laggard anymore. The focus into the week is if analyst target hikes and stronger hotel demand numbers are enough to keep buyers around after Friday’s dip.
DiamondRock trailed the market Friday, with SPY up 0.24%. Hotel REITs had a rough session. Host Hotels & Resorts dropped 1.25%. Park Hotels & Resorts lost 0.33%. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust fell 1.90%.
DiamondRock got a boost this week as Truist raised its price target to $12 from $11 and maintained a buy rating. Analysts tracked by FactSet still averaged an “overweight” and a target of $11.45, according to MarketScreener. MarketScreener
Hotel stocks found support in new RevPAR numbers. U.S. hotel revenue per available room, or RevPAR, rose 4.6% for the week of May 17-23. That was the seventh week in a row of gains, STR data from CoStar showed. HVS on Friday bumped up its 2026 forecast for U.S. RevPAR growth to 3.0% from 2.2%.
DiamondRock, a hotel-focused REIT, reported first-quarter results with comparable RevPAR up 2.0%, adjusted EBITDA ahead 8.0%, and adjusted FFO per share rising 15.8% to 22 cents. The company must pay out most taxable income. CEO Jeffrey J. Donnelly said DiamondRock is “constructive on the demand outlook,” but is sticking to a “measured approach to guidance.” DIAMONDROCK HOSPITALITY COMPANY
DiamondRock is adding to its capital return plans. The board cleared a $300 million share buyback plan and kept its regular quarterly common dividend at 9 cents per share, to be paid July 14 to shareholders on record as of June 30, the company said.
Asset recycling is next. DiamondRock sold the leasehold in the 189-room Courtyard by Marriott New York Manhattan/Fifth Avenue earlier this month for $33 million. That comes to 6.3x 2025 hotel adjusted EBITDA and a 13.3% cap rate based on income and the sale price. Following the deal, the company took its 2026 adjusted FFO-per-share guidance to $1.10-$1.16 from $1.12-$1.18. CEO Donnelly said the property’s “expected returns did not meet our investment thresholds.” SEC
But the trade can go the other direction. DiamondRock’s own slides list risks like inflation, rates, jobs, tariffs, weaker travel demand, and rising costs. CoStar’s Memorial Day weekend note showed RevPAR up, but with Friday-Saturday room sales and occupancy down—growth came from higher prices, not more rooms. If customers push back on rates or group demand slips, that late-May premium for the stock could fade fast.
No major events planned for DiamondRock. The company’s investor calendar is clear, so action next week will likely depend on how DRH handles the $11 level, what happens with lodging REITs versus the market, and whether investors keep backing hotel owners focused on rates.
DRH ends May up from where it started the holiday-shortened week, though it didn’t keep Friday’s peak. The stock is holding some momentum, but there’s less cushion if June travel numbers disappoint.
