Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 427 Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,618 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Choice Hotels International in the fourth quarter worth $125,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 3,087.2% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 21,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,009,000 after purchasing an additional 20,530 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the fourth quarter valued at $879,000. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.30, for a total value of $519,050.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,913 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,797.90. This trade represents a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ervin R. Shames sold 2,000 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.56, for a total value of $259,120.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 52,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,764,586.72. The trade was a 3.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,280 shares of company stock worth $1,035,202. 23.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CHH. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $141.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $124.00 to $115.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Choice Hotels International from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $132.00 to $111.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna set a $140.00 target price on Choice Hotels International and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.38.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CHH opened at $128.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.00. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.22 and a 1-year high of $157.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $127.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.71.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.04). Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 18.91% and a negative return on equity of 472.31%. The business had revenue of $332.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $348.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.56%.

Choice Hotels International 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.