William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. Makes New $799,000 Investment in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CHH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Choice Hotels International by 144.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 307.4% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 163.2% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 129.4% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Choice Hotels International during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CHH. UBS Group dropped their target price on Choice Hotels International from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Barclays decreased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $114.00 to $112.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Choice Hotels International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “sell” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Choice Hotels International from $144.00 to $134.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Choice Hotels International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $125.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total value of $1,019,827.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,623.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Choice Hotels International news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total transaction of $1,206,709.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,709,646.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total value of $1,019,827.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,623.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 44,241 shares of company stock valued at $5,517,383. Insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CHH opened at $132.77 on Monday. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.91 and a twelve month high of $134.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.25.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $435.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $438.29 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 3,953.67% and a net margin of 15.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.68%.

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.