UBS upgrades InterContinental Hotels Group to buy, raises price target to $188

What Brokers Say Retail & Consumer Written by: Ian Lyall 11:45 Wed 02 Sep 2026 --> Disclaimer No investment advice About this content Editorial Standards & Policies Share article About this content × About Ian Lyall Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more About the publisher Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists. Proactive news team spans the world’s key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth. We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors. The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies. Use of technology Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter. Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows. Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation. Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC ( LSE:IHG ) View Price & Profile UBS upgrades InterContinental Hotels Group to buy, raises price target to $188 Published: 11:45 02 Sep 2026 BST UBS has upgraded Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC (LSE:IHG) , the hotel operator, to 'buy' from 'neutral', raising its price target to $188 from $157.65. The broker said IHG's shares, up 2% at 1$59.10, now trade at a discount to certain peers despite its strong long-term track record in global lodging. Earnings have compounded at around 9% annually over the past decade, while the company has returned approximately $8.5 billion (about £6.3 billion) to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. UBS said the shares now trade at a 3% discount to Hilton, a gap it believes should close given IHG's earnings growth outlook and exposure to recovery markets such as China and the Middle East. The broker raised its 2026 revenue per available room growth forecast to 3.5% and its net unit growth forecast to 5.0%, lifting 2026 and 2027 earnings per share estimates by around 4%. The new price target is based on 18 times 2027 estimated enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, above IHG's long-term average of around 16 times. UBS said this premium is justified by the company's asset-light business model, visible medium-term earnings growth and scope to return more than $4.5 billion (about £3.33 billion) to shareholders by the end of the decade. Continue reading