HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,490 shares of the company’s stock after selling 947 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHH. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Choice Hotels International by 307.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Choice Hotels International by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 251,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,873,000 after purchasing an additional 13,412 shares during the last quarter. &PARTNERS purchased a new position in Choice Hotels International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $366,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 7,764.7% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Choice Hotels International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.18.

Choice Hotels International Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE CHH opened at $146.45 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.00. The company has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.91 and a 12-month high of $153.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $428.00 million for 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%. Choice Hotels International’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Choice Hotels International news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total transaction of $1,019,827.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,669 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,623.52. The trade was a 14.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert J. Mcdowell sold 8,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.99, for a total value of $1,176,032.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 38,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,197,384.98. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,412 shares of company stock valued at $8,582,271 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

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.