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

Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $134.36.

A number of analysts have weighed in on CHH shares. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Choice Hotels International news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total transaction of $1,232,533.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,240,493.92. This represents a 11.77 % 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 link. Also, insider Robert J. Mcdowell sold 8,712 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.99, for a total transaction of $1,176,032.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,197,384.98. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 53,572 shares of company stock worth $7,562,444 in the last quarter. 24.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 7,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 917.2% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 161,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,254,000 after purchasing an additional 145,893 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 129.4% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 30.8% in the second quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 110,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,150,000 after purchasing an additional 26,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Choice Hotels International by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 9,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CHH opened at $140.34 on Thursday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $144.67 and its 200-day moving average is $133.26. The company has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24. Choice Hotels International has a 52-week low of $108.91 and a 52-week high of $153.81.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The company had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $432.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

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

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.