Hotel and resort operator Marriott International ( MAR – news – people ) said Thursday that its second quarter profit more than tripled from last year, beating analyst expectations.

The Bethesda, Md., company reported second quarter net income of $119 million, or 31 cents per share, compared with $37 million, or 10 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Last year’s results were hampered by several one-time items. Revenue rose 8% from last year, to $2.77 billion, aided by higher room rates and fees. On average, Wall Street analysts expected a smaller profit of 28 cents per share, on slightly lower revenue of $2.75 billion.

The company said that revpar, or revenue per available room, the key metric used to measure a lodging company’s performance, jumped 9.9% from last year.

Marriott shares dropped by 2.6% in late morning trading Thursday.

The Bottom Line
Shares of MAR have a dividend yield of 0.50%, based on last night’s closing stock price of $32.16. The stock has technical support in the $26-$28 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $34-$35 price levels. We would remain on the sidelines for now.

Marriott is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

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