Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Short Interest Up 8.8% in January

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,450,000 shares, an increase of 8.8% from the January 15th total of 5,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 303,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 18.0 days. Approximately 20.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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 note on Friday, December 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.33.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Choice Hotels International by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 3,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

CHH stock opened at $146.31 on Tuesday. Choice Hotels International has a 1-year low of $108.91 and a 1-year high of $156.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $144.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.89. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.23.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is 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.