Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $153.95 and last traded at $152.89, with a volume of 18306 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $151.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CHH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $129.00 price target (down from $145.00) on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $136.33.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $144.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.50.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. The business 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. 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 dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,656,336.70. This trade represents a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHH. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International in the third quarter valued at approximately $19,545,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 45.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 364,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,557,000 after purchasing an additional 113,951 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 38.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 143,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,735,000 after purchasing an additional 34,396 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the third quarter worth about $42,280,000. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Choice Hotels International

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.