Analysts Set Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Target Price at $134.18

Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $134.36.

CHH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Choice Hotels International news, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 1,714 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total transaction of $231,390.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,084 shares in the company, valued at $2,441,340. This represents a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total value of $1,232,533.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,240,493.92. The trade was a 11.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,572 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,444. Company insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CHH. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 129.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 81.4% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International in the third quarter worth $63,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Choice Hotels International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $69,000. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Choice Hotels International Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CHH opened at $141.55 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.05. Choice Hotels International has a 52-week low of $108.91 and a 52-week high of $153.81. The company has a market capitalization of $6.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.