Marriott shares fall ahead of 3Q earnings release

Marriott shares fell $1.01, or 3.9 percent, to $25.08. The stock has traded between $22.12 and $45.10 during the past 52 weeks.

The Bethesda, Md.-based company reports its quarterly results on Thursday.

"We think (Marriott) is likely to make our number for the quarter, but will highlight our concerns on the outlook going into next year," said Goldman Sachs analyst Steven Kent, who has assigned a "Neutral" rating to the company.

"Given the recent challenges in the financial market, we think the impact on business travel may be stronger than in previous cycles, and our bias for a downward revpar revision is high," Kent said.

Revenue per available room, or revpar, is considered a key gauge of a hospitality company's performance.

Friedman, Billings, Ramsey analyst C. Patrick Scholes, who also expects Marriott to report in line with consensus expectations, said attention will be focused on the 2009 outlook.

"We expect management's guidance to be very conservative, given recent booking trends and very limited visibility," Scholes said. The analyst noted that the European market is weakening and timeshare trends have also softened amid the prolonged credit crisis and economic slump.

Scholes said, however, that Marriott benefits from minimal hotel ownership, a strong new room pipeline and a low valuation. He has given the company an "Outperform" rating.

Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Jake Fuller lowered his 2009 estimates for Marriott late Tuesday due to the widespread economic uncertainty. He maintained the company's "Market Weight" rating.