Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

CHH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.67.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

CHH stock opened at $132.48 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $144.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.25. Choice Hotels International has a fifty-two week low of $109.22 and a fifty-two week high of $157.86.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.10. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 18.91% and a negative return on equity of 472.31%. The firm had revenue of $389.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.24 million. Research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.46%.

Insider Activity

In other Choice Hotels International news, CFO Scott E. Oaksmith sold 1,780 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.40, for a total value of $257,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,622,821.60. The trade was a 5.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.30, for a total value of $519,050.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,913 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,797.90. The trade was a 4.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Choice Hotels International by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,423,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,070,000 after buying an additional 8,362 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 949,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,822,000 after acquiring an additional 9,490 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 38.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 402,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,419,000 after purchasing an additional 111,903 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International in the 4th quarter worth $48,201,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Choice Hotels International by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 292,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,577,000 after purchasing an additional 120,376 shares during the period. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.