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

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) has earned an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $130.45.

Several brokerages recently commented on CHH. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Choice Hotels International from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd.

Insider Activity

In other Choice Hotels International news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at $48,709,646.42. The trade was a 2.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 1,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $231,390.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,441,340. The trade was a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,437 shares of company stock valued at $9,788,980. Insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 77.2% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,105,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788,563 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 941,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,046,000 after purchasing an additional 8,033 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Choice Hotels International by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 675,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,340,000 after purchasing an additional 26,289 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 45.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 364,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,557,000 after purchasing an additional 113,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 51.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,767,000 after purchasing an additional 90,765 shares during the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Choice Hotels International Stock Down 0.5 %

CHH opened at $148.24 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $141.04 and its 200-day moving average is $128.81. Choice Hotels International has a one year low of $108.91 and a one year high of $153.81. The company has a market capitalization of $6.95 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.62 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is currently 22.03%.

Choice Hotels International Company Profile

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.