Ashford Hospitality Trust Plunged: What You Need to Know (AHT)

Ashford Hospitality Trust Plunged: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of hotel-focused REIT Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE: AHT ) checked out this morning, leaving behind a 13.7% overnight price drop at the nadir.

So what: This one's a sector effect: Ashford doesn't have any terrible news of its own today, but fellow hotelier Summit Hotels (NYSE: INN ) just got a heavy-handed analyst downgrade based on middle-class spending concerns. FelCor Lodging Trust (NYSE: FCH ) also fell as much as 11.9%, and all three hospitality specialists are down by more than 20% over the last week.

Now what: This highly focused sector has seen its share of terrible earnings reports lately. Ashford got back to paying a relatively modest dividend this spring after a payout hiatus since 2008, FelCor is still holding back its formerly generous yield, and Summit is only getting started as a publicly traded dividend stock. If you're attracted to the payout requirements of a REIT, perhaps you'd be better off with one of these 13 stellar dividend payers.

Interested in more info on Ashford Hospitality Trust? Add it to your watchlist.

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Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any of the companies discussed here. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.

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