Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Given New $152.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) had its target price lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $150.00 to $152.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on CHH. StockNews.com raised Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.36.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

CHH opened at $141.67 on Thursday. 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 has a 12-month low of $108.91 and a 12-month high of $153.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $144.64 and a 200-day moving average of $132.48. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $432.62 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

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 given 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 dividend yield of 0.81%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is 22.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

In other Choice Hotels International news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 26,816 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,551,123.54. The trade was a 6.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total transaction of $1,232,533.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,240,493.92. The trade was a 11.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,572 shares of company stock worth $7,562,444 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in Choice Hotels International by 77.2% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,105,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788,563 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International during the third quarter valued at about $19,545,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 45.4% during 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 38.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 402,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,419,000 after buying an additional 111,903 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 51.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,767,000 after buying an additional 90,765 shares during the period. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.