Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $144.00 to $134.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Choice Hotels International from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a sell rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Susquehanna started coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Friday, June 21st. They issued a neutral rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Choice Hotels International has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $125.64.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE CHH opened at $132.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.25. Choice Hotels International has a 1-year low of $108.91 and a 1-year high of $134.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $126.27 and a 200-day moving average of $122.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $435.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $438.29 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 3,953.67% and a net margin of 15.42%. Choice Hotels International’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International will post 6.38 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is currently 24.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total transaction of $1,019,827.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,623.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 13,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.08, for a total value of $1,658,435.72. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 23,461 shares in the company, valued at $2,934,501.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total transaction of $1,019,827.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,669 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,623.52. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,241 shares of company stock worth $5,517,383. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 1.7% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 6,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 20,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,492,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 144.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 198 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 7.4% in the second quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 1,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.4% during the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

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.