(Bloomberg) -- Activist investor Bill Ackman confirmed he had built a $25 million stake in private equity powerhouse Blackstone Group Inc. during the first quarter and disclosed a new position in Park Hotels & Resorts Inc.The billionaire’s Pershing Square Capital Management, which disclosed the stakes in a regulatory filing Friday, said it owned almost 549,000 shares of Blackstone and about 678,000 Park Hotels shares, valued at $5.4 million, as of March 31.Pershing Square is off to a strong start in 2020 despite market volatility brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The firm returned 16.5% on its investments this year through May 12, according to its website. That was largely because of a large hedging bet that paid out about $2.6 billion -- or roughly 100 times its original value -- that Pershing Square has since exited.Ackman said he has redeployed the capital by investing further in his portfolio companies, including Lowe’s Cos., Agilent Technologies Inc., Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., Restaurant Brands International Inc., and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. He also reinvested in Starbucks Corp.The strong start comes after Pershing Square had a record year in 2019, returning 58.1% on its investments.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

In this episode of Yahoo Finance Presents, Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta joins Brian Sozzi to discuss challenges the hospitality industry is facing as the coronavirus forces travelers to stay home.

A look at what stocks Ackman was buying the first quarter of 2020 Continue reading...

On May 13, hotel real estate investment trusts (REITs) Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB), DiamondRock Hospitality Trust (NYSE: DRH), and Park Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: PK) all fell 10% or more in the first half of trading. Each of these three hotel REITs had a difficult first quarter, as efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 had a swift and direct impact on the performance of their properties. In reality, the social distancing and non-essential business closures mandated by the government only impacted a part of the first quarter.

Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") assigned first-time ratings to Park Intermediate Holdings LLC, including a B1 Corporate Family Rating (CFR) and a B1 senior secured notes rating to its $500 million senior secured notes being marketed. In the same rating action, Moody's also assigned a speculative grade liquidity rating at SGL-4 to Park. The negative outlook reflects Moody's expectation that the current travel restrictions being put in place across the US related to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus will put significant pressure on Park's earnings and operating cash flows in the next twelve to eighteen months.

This high-end hotel operator had a great April, but that's really not saying much when you look at the big picture.

The stock market crash in March created some intriguing opportunities for long-term investors. The COVID-19 health crisis (and the lockdown it necessitated) sent the stock for plenty of companies down to new 52-week lows. For instance, shares of space tourism company Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE), dropped from a high around $42 in February all the way to $10 a share in mid-March.

Park Hotels & Resorts announces financial covenant waivers for credit facilities and maturity extension for revolving credit facility.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management Ltd. has bought a $25 million stake in private equity firm Blackstone Group Inc. (BX) in the first quarter.Pershing Square said it built a position of almost 549,000 shares of Blackstone, according to a SEC filing. In addition, the billionaire’s portfolio disclosed a new position in Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. (PK), in which it bought 678,000 shares, valued at about $5.4 million, as of March 31.Shares in Blackstone this year slumped as much as 35% as of March 23. However, since then the stock has seen a nice recovery soaring 42% and trading at $51.07 as of Friday. In the first quarter of the year, Park Hotels shares have lost as much as 81%.The hedge fund manager has also taken some profits. During the first quarter, Pershing divested about 32% of the portfolio’s stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG). The value of the burrito chain’s shares has more than doubled in the past two months. Furthermore, Ackman bumped up investments in current holdings, including Starbucks (SBUX), Agilent Technologies Inc. (A), Lowes Companies (LOW) and Restaurant Brands International (QSR).Despite strong stock market volatility triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, Pershing’s portfolio this year returned 16.5% on its investments as of May 12.At the beginning of the year, billionaire investor Ackman moved to protect the firm’s stock portfolio against coronavirus-related panic selling in markets by buying credit default swaps. Pershing Square yielded a stellar $2.6 billion from hedging its stock portfolio through the credit protection. Most of the return was invested in buying more shares of the fund’s portfolio companies including, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT) and Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A).Ackman is this year also upbeat about investment into infrastructure projects helping the U.S. economy recover from the repercussions of the coronavirus outbreak. In March, Pershing invested $500 million in Howard Hughes Corp. (HHC), one of the largest real estate development companies in the US.Last week, both Brian Bedell at Deutsche Bank and Christopher Harris at Wells Fargo raised Blackstone’s price target to $47 and $63 respectively from $43 and $58 previously. Bedell has a Hold rating on the stock while Harris views it as a Buy.Overall, TipRanks data shows that Wall Street analysts are cautiously optimistic about the shares with 8 Buys and 4 Holds adding up to a Moderate Buy consensus. The $54.10 average price target implies 5.9% upside potential over the coming year. (See Blackstone stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: Buffett’s Berkshire Shaves Off 84% Of Its Goldman Sachs Stake Carl Icahn Initiates Position in Delek US Holdings, Boosts Occidental Petroleum Is Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) Stock a Buy? This Analyst Says Yes More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * Apple China Sales On Recovery Path In April, iPhone Sales Jump 160% - Report * Vermilion Energy CEO Steps Down With Immediate Effect * American Airlines and Others Given Go-Ahead to Reduce Route Coverage * Facebook Workplace Hits 5 Million Paid Users As Remote Work Demand Rises

It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Ian Weissman, Senior Vice President Corporate Strategy. Thank you, operator, and welcome everyone to the Park Hotels & Resorts first quarter 2020 earnings call.

Park Hotels & Resorts reports first quarter 2020 results and provides operational update.

Hotel stocks, especially those with large, iconic properties, are one of the best-performing parts of the market.

Park Hotels & Resorts announces pricing of additional $100 million aggregate principal amount of 7.500% senior secured notes due 2025.

Activist investor releases 1st-quarter portfolio Continue reading...

(Bloomberg) -- Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. has held discussions with lenders including Bank of America Corp. about a potential $500 million high-yield bond offering, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.The Tysons, Virginia-based real estate investment trust, which was spun out of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc., has sought credit ratings ahead of what would be an inaugural junk bond, said the person, who requested anonymity because the talks are private. The company could launch a transaction as soon as this week, the person added.Spokesmen for Park Hotels and Bank of America declined to comment.Companies including cruise line operators, airlines and hotel chains have sold bonds in recent weeks to shore up liquidity as a global pandemic keeps travelers at home. Park Hotels, like many of its rivals, has seen the value of its shares plummet. Its stock has tumbled more than 65% year-to-date, giving it a market value of about $1.9 billion.In delivering first-quarter earnings earlier Monday, the company said it had suspended operations at 38 of its 60 hotels due to Covid-19, and had reduced the capacity at its remaining hotels to 15%. Its portfolio includes the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and the New York Hilton Midtown.Park Hotels has fully drawn on its $1 billion revolving credit facility as a precautionary measure, and extended its maturity to December 2021, receiving covenant waivers from lenders in the process, it said.The company has $1.2 billion in current liquidity and a cash burn rate of $70 million per month in an extreme situation with all operations suspended. That leaves it well positioned to navigate the virus disruption, Thomas J. Baltimore Jr., the company’s chief executive officer said in a statement.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Q1 2020 Park Hotels & Resorts Inc Earnings Call

Park Hotels' (PK) Q1 results to reflect adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic with reduced travel demand and substantial increase in the number of corporate group cancellations.

Park Hotels & Resorts announces first quarter 2020 earnings conference call on May 11, 2020.

Park Hotels & Resorts announces upsizing and pricing of senior secured notes offering.

Shares of Park Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: PK), a hotel real estate investment trust (REIT), dropped from the get-go on Monday, falling as much as 10% within an hour of the market opening. The reason for the drop was pretty obvious: The REIT reported earnings in the morning. Hotels, even the high-end variety that Park owns, have an effective lease length of one night.