PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hersha Hospitality Trust (NYSE:HT) (“Hersha” or the “Company”), owner of high quality upscale hotels in urban gateway markets and coastal destinations, today announced that its Board of Trustees authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $100 million of the Company’s outstanding common shares. This new program will commence immediately and the Company expects to complete the new repurchase program prior to December 31, 2018, unless extended by the Board of Trustees.
“In 2017, the Company repurchased approximately two million common shares totaling $35.1 million, at a volume-weighted average price of $17.65, representing 4.5% of common shares outstanding. Since 2014, we have accretively repurchased $230.3 million of our common shares, representing 21.6% of our outstanding float. We believe opportunistic share buybacks are an attractive use of available capital and a driver of share value when the stock price is trading at a material discount to our net asset value. We intend to continue opportunistically repurchasing shares throughout the year to take advantage of capital market dislocations, remaining steadfast to our sustained and unique value creation philosophy and commitment to driving total shareholder returns,” stated Mr. Jay H. Shah, Hersha’s Chief Executive Officer.
The shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws. The actual timing, number and value of shares repurchased under the program will be determined by management at its discretion and will depend on a number of factors, including the market price of the Company’s common shares and general market and economic conditions, applicable legal requirements, compliance with the terms of the Company’s outstanding indebtedness and the availability of capital for repurchases.
Hersha Hospitality Trust (HT) is a self-advised real estate investment trust in the hospitality sector, which owns and operates high quality upscale hotels in urban gateway markets and coastal destinations. The Company's 50 hotels totaling 7,724 rooms are located in New York, Washington, DC, Boston, Philadelphia, South Florida and select markets on the West Coast. The Company's common shares are traded on The New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “HT”. For more information on the Company, and the Company’s hotel portfolio, please visit the Company's website at www.hersha.com
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and, as such, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results or performance to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statement. For a description of these factors, please review the information under the heading “Risk Factors” included in Hersha Hospitality Trust’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and subsequent reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.
Contact: Ashish Parikh, Chief Financial Officer
Greg Costa, Manager of Investor Relations & Finance
Phone: (215) 238-1046