Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) SVP Sells $1,019,827.20 in Stock

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total value of $1,019,827.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,669 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,623.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Choice Hotels International Stock Up 2.3 %

CHH stock opened at $133.72 on Wednesday. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.91 and a fifty-two week high of $134.44. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $125.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.25.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $435.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $438.29 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 3,953.67% and a net margin of 15.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CHH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “sell” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $114.00 to $112.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Choice Hotels International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 19th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Susquehanna initiated coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research note on Friday, June 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.25.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 621,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,396,000 after acquiring an additional 62,174 shares during the last quarter. Boulder Hill Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,504,000. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International during the 4th quarter worth $4,119,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International in the 4th quarter worth about $2,927,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.