Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $128.78.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CHH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Choice Hotels International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

In other news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 68,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,240,493.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total value of $1,206,709.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,709,646.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,437 shares of company stock valued at $9,788,980 in the last quarter. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Choice Hotels International by 77.2% during 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 buying an additional 1,788,563 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,738,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,957,000 after acquiring an additional 195,956 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 941,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,046,000 after acquiring an additional 8,033 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Choice Hotels International by 4.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 675,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,340,000 after acquiring an additional 26,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Choice Hotels International by 45.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 364,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,557,000 after purchasing an additional 113,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

Shares of CHH stock opened at $144.39 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.66, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $133.15 and its 200-day moving average is $125.08. Choice Hotels International has a 1 year low of $108.91 and a 1 year high of $149.75.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued 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 company had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $432.62 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. Choice Hotels International’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International will post 6.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. 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.