Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Trims Stock Position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,634 shares of the company’s stock after selling 807 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $5,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 161.3% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 6,384 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 251,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,873,000 after buying an additional 13,412 shares during the period. Finally, &PARTNERS acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International in the second quarter valued at $366,000. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna upped their price target on Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Choice Hotels International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.18.

Insider Activity at Choice Hotels International

In other Choice Hotels International news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robert J. Mcdowell sold 8,712 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.99, for a total value of $1,176,032.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,197,384.98. The trade was a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,412 shares of company stock valued at $8,582,271 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Choice Hotels International stock opened at $146.45 on Friday. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.91 and a 12-month high of $153.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $142.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.86.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $432.62 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is currently 22.03%.

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.