Short Interest in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Decreases By 6.8%

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,650,000 shares, a decline of 6.8% from the November 15th total of 4,990,000 shares. Currently, 17.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 317,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 14.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.18.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:CHH opened at $145.31 on Wednesday. Choice Hotels International has a one year low of $108.91 and a one year high of $153.81. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $143.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $432.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total transaction of $1,019,827.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,623.52. This trade represents a 14.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total value of $1,042,480.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at $58,656,336.70. This trade represents a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,412 shares of company stock valued at $8,582,271. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Choice Hotels International by 307.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in Choice Hotels International by 129.4% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Choice Hotels International by 1,146.9% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Choice Hotels International during the third quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International in the 2nd quarter worth $56,000. 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.