2,752 Shares in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Acquired by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHH. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $488,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788,563 shares during the period. 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. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 917.2% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 161,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,254,000 after buying an additional 145,893 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 364,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,557,000 after acquiring an additional 113,951 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,767,000 after acquiring an additional 90,765 shares in the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays upped 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.00.

Insider Transactions at Choice Hotels International

In related news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 26,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.69, for a total transaction of $3,880,007.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at $58,551,123.54. This represents a 6.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 1,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $231,390.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,441,340. This represents a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,437 shares of company stock worth $9,788,980 over the last three months. 24.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Shares of Choice Hotels International stock opened at $152.95 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.24. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.91 and a twelve month high of $153.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $137.47 and its 200 day moving average is $126.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $432.62 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.83 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.03%.

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.