American Century Companies Inc. Trims Stake in Choice Hotels International, Inc. $CHH

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 58.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,724 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHH. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Choice Hotels International by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 267,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,945,000 after acquiring an additional 24,957 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Choice Hotels International by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 26,412 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,750,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Choice Hotels International by 91.3% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 53,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,530,000 after acquiring an additional 25,315 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Choice Hotels International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Choice Hotels International by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Choice Hotels International Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of CHH opened at $117.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.87. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.15 and a twelve month high of $157.86.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $426.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $430.13 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 575.73% and a net margin of 19.52%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Choice Hotels International news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.54, for a total value of $642,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 70,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,111,043.74. This trade represents a 6.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,647,400 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 23.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Choice Hotels International from $144.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Susquehanna set a $140.00 price target on Choice Hotels International and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $133.38.

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.