Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Price Target Raised to $129.00

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) had its target price raised by Barclays from $123.00 to $129.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.18.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

NYSE:CHH opened at $146.45 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $142.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.00. Choice Hotels International has a 1-year low of $108.91 and a 1-year high of $153.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.62 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Choice Hotels International news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total value of $1,232,533.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,509 shares in the company, valued at $9,240,493.92. This trade represents a 11.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $3,880,007.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,551,123.54. This represents a 6.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 61,412 shares of company stock worth $8,582,271. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Choice Hotels International by 307.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Choice Hotels International by 129.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Choice Hotels International by 1,146.9% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Choice Hotels International in the third quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International in the second quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

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.