Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Receives $133.27 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) have received a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $135.92.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CHH. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $129.00 price target (down previously from $145.00) on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Shares of CHH stock opened at $147.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20, a PEG ratio of 1.84 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. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.10.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its 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 company had revenue of $428.00 million during 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%. Choice Hotels International’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. 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 at Choice Hotels International

In related news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 26,816 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.69, for a total value of $3,880,007.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,551,123.54. This trade represents a 6.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in Choice Hotels International by 12.9% in the third quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Choice Hotels International by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. boosted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 0.9% in the third quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC grew its position in Choice Hotels International by 8.0% during the third quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 2,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

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.