Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) had its target price hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $134.00 to $141.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

CHH has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Choice Hotels International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.00.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Choice Hotels International stock opened at $144.76 on Wednesday. Choice Hotels International has a fifty-two week low of $108.91 and a fifty-two week high of $149.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $133.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.22.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,623.52. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Choice Hotels International news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total transaction of $1,042,480.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,656,336.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owns 45,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,623.52. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,437 shares of company stock worth $9,788,980. 24.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 9.1% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,266,000 after buying an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 256.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,612,000 after acquiring an additional 19,939 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Choice Hotels International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $358,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

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.