Reviewing Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) & Viking (NYSE:VIK)

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) and Viking (NYSE:VIK) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Choice Hotels International and Viking, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Choice Hotels International	3	9	2	0	1.93
Viking	1	2	16	1	2.85

Choice Hotels International currently has a consensus price target of $112.67, indicating a potential upside of 7.87%. Viking has a consensus price target of $106.83, indicating a potential upside of 35.66%. Given Viking’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Viking is more favorable than Choice Hotels International.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

65.6% of Choice Hotels International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Viking shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.9% of Choice Hotels International shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Choice Hotels International and Viking’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Choice Hotels International	20.28%	205.69%	10.68%
Viking	19.33%	117.98%	10.80%

Risk and Volatility

Choice Hotels International has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Viking has a beta of 1.41, suggesting that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Choice Hotels International and Viking”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Choice Hotels International	$1.60 billion	2.94	$369.95 million	$7.08	14.75
Viking	$6.50 billion	5.40	$1.15 billion	$3.01	26.16

Viking has higher revenue and earnings than Choice Hotels International. Choice Hotels International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Viking, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Viking beats Choice Hotels International on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. Choice Hotels International, Inc. was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland.

About Viking

Viking Holdings Ltd engages in the passenger shipping and other forms of passenger transport in North America, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through River and Ocean segments. The company also operates as a tour entrepreneur for passengers and related activities in tourism. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of 92 ships, including 81 river vessels comprising 58 Longships, 10 smaller classes based on the Longship design, 11 other river vessels, and 1 river vessel charter and the Viking Mississippi; 9 ocean ships; and 2 expedition ships. The company was founded in 1997 and is based in Pembroke, Bermuda.