GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 222 Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. $CHH

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 116.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 413 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 222 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $52,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Choice Hotels International by 66.2% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in Choice Hotels International during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Choice Hotels International by 64.7% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new position in Choice Hotels International during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 119.1% in the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.45, for a total transaction of $341,125.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 68,381 shares in the company, valued at $9,330,587.45. This trade represents a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 23.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $117.00 to $101.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $121.00 price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Choice Hotels International presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $127.92.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

NYSE CHH opened at $103.85 on Friday. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $103.72 and a 1-year high of $157.86. The company has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $117.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.25.

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

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.69%.

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.