Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index Upticks 0.8 percent in February

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STR reported this week that the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index  ended the month of February 2011 with a slight 0.8-percent increase to 2,413. In 2011 year-to-date results the index is up 2.1 percent. The Hotel Stock Index ended 2010 at 2,364.

Robert W. Baird & Co. (Baird) and STR partnered to create the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index -- the first widely available U.S. hotel stock index in the hotel industry. The index combines Baird's financial markets expertise, the market data from STR and HotelNewsNow.com.

"After briefly going over 2,500 during February, a peak level not reached since the end of 2007, the Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index increased slightly for the month, gaining 0.8 percent from the January close," said Randy Smith, chairman and cofounder of STR. "This is not surprising given the sharp run-up in the stock index over the last 18 months and the recent slowdown in some key industry fundamentals. With continued uncertainty in global markets and growing concern about the cost of fuel for the summer, investors are clearly reevaluating the short-term growth prospects for the industry."

"The Baird/STR Index underperformed the S&P 500 and the RMZ for the second consecutive month as rising oil prices and macroeconomic concerns outweighed generally positive earnings reports," said David Loeb, senior analyst at Baird. "Management teams provided their 2011 outlooks that were in line with industry forecasts which may have disappointed investors; however, we believe management teams might have been conservative given the sudden increase in oil prices and macroeconomic uncertainties. Lodging fundamentals remain strong and we continue to believe 2011 will be stronger than 2010." 

The Baird/STR Hotel Stock Index was set to equal 1000 on 1 January 2000, as its starting point. The Index reached its peak of 3178 on 5 July 2007. The Index's lowest point occurred on 6 March 2009, when it dropped to 573.

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