Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 27,010 Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,268 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,010 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Choice Hotels International worth $6,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 34,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,993,000 after buying an additional 5,156 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 161.3% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 6,384 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 7.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,738,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,957,000 after purchasing an additional 195,956 shares during the period. &PARTNERS bought a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International in the second quarter valued at approximately $366,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,089,000. 65.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CHH. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Choice Hotels International from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.00.

Insider Activity

In other Choice Hotels International news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 45,669 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,623.52. This represents a 14.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total value of $1,206,709.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,709,646.42. This represents a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,437 shares of company stock worth $9,788,980. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Choice Hotels International Stock Down 0.2 %

CHH stock opened at $145.73 on Wednesday. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.91 and a 1-year high of $149.75. The stock has a market cap of $6.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $135.37 and its 200 day moving average is $125.99.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. The firm had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $432.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. 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.