Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) have received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $134.36.

A number of research firms have recently commented on CHH. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

NYSE:CHH opened at $140.34 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. Choice Hotels International has a twelve month low of $108.91 and a twelve month high of $153.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.31. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

In other Choice Hotels International news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total value of $1,232,533.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,509 shares in the company, valued at $9,240,493.92. This trade represents a 11.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total value of $1,042,480.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at $58,656,336.70. This represents a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,572 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,444. Company insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its position in Choice Hotels International by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 843 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 20,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,492,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. lifted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in Choice Hotels International by 4.4% during the second quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. 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.