Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $127.25.

CHH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna started coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research note on Friday, June 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Choice Hotels International from $144.00 to $134.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Choice Hotels International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Choice Hotels International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, July 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Choice Hotels International news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total value of $1,019,827.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,623.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total transaction of $1,206,709.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,709,646.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total transaction of $1,019,827.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,623.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 44,241 shares of company stock valued at $5,517,383. Insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHH. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 77.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,105,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788,563 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,738,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,957,000 after buying an additional 195,956 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 941,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,046,000 after buying an additional 8,033 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 144.2% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 939,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,402,000 after buying an additional 554,479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 675,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,340,000 after acquiring an additional 26,289 shares during the period. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:CHH opened at $130.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.25. Choice Hotels International has a fifty-two week low of $108.91 and a fifty-two week high of $134.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.84.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.02). Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 15.42% and a negative return on equity of 3,953.67%. The company had revenue of $435.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $438.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International will post 6.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.68%.

About Choice Hotels International

Choice Hotels International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a hotel franchisor in the United States and internationally. It operates through Hotel Franchising & Management and Corporate & Other segments. The company franchises lodging properties under the brand names of Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, Sleep Inn, Ascend Hotel Collection, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites, Suburban Studios, WoodSpring Suites, Everhome Suites, Cambria Hotels, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Radisson Inn & Suites, Park Inn by Radisson, Radisson Individuals, and Radisson Collection.