Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $150.35 and last traded at $149.88, with a volume of 11740 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $149.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CHH. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Choice Hotels International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.00.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $136.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $126.30. The company has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.31. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The firm had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Choice Hotels International’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total value of $1,019,827.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,669 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,623.52. This represents a 14.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total value of $1,206,709.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at $48,709,646.42. This represents a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,437 shares of company stock worth $9,788,980. Corporate insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 307.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Choice Hotels International by 163.2% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Choice Hotels International by 129.4% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Choice Hotels International by 1,146.9% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International during the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. 65.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.