Choice Hotels International’s (CHH) “Underweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reaffirmed their underweight rating on shares of Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $129.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $145.00.

CHH has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.27.

Choice Hotels International Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:CHH opened at $140.87 on Tuesday. 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 $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $144.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.83.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $432.62 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total transaction of $1,042,480.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,656,336.70. This trade represents a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 24.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 77.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,105,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788,563 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 675,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,340,000 after purchasing an additional 26,289 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 38.5% in 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 & Associates raised its stake in Choice Hotels International by 45.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 364,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,557,000 after purchasing an additional 113,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Choice Hotels International by 51.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,767,000 after purchasing an additional 90,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.