Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $127.9231.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CHH shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Choice Hotels International from $144.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $117.00 to $101.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Choice Hotels International

In related news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.45, for a total value of $341,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 68,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,330,587.45. This represents a 3.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 23.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 4,990,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,214,000 after acquiring an additional 317,618 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,981,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,694,000 after purchasing an additional 25,487 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,556,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,464,000 after purchasing an additional 133,216 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 965,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,522,000 after purchasing an additional 20,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rock Creek Group LP raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 52.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rock Creek Group LP now owns 811,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,973,000 after acquiring an additional 278,715 shares in the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Choice Hotels International Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of CHH stock opened at $98.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.27. Choice Hotels International has a fifty-two week low of $98.25 and a fifty-two week high of $157.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.