Headlands Technologies LLC Invests $142,000 in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CHH. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 34.4% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after buying an additional 2,054 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Choice Hotels International by 5.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,556,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,464,000 after acquiring an additional 133,216 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Choice Hotels International during the first quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Choice Hotels International during the first quarter valued at approximately $635,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 3,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Shares of CHH stock opened at $121.02 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $128.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.46. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.20 and a fifty-two week high of $157.86.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.92 EPS 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is currently 17.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Choice Hotels International from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $141.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $121.00 price target on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

In other news, Director Ervin R. Shames sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.56, for a total transaction of $259,120.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 52,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,764,586.72. This represents a 3.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $9,111,043.74. This represents a 6.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,500 shares of company stock worth $1,906,520. Insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

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.