Dominic Dragisich Sells 3,500 Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Stock

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.30, for a total value of $519,050.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,219,797.90. This represents a 4.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

NYSE CHH traded down $0.49 on Thursday, reaching $145.96. 48,449 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 356,755. The stock has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.23. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.91 and a 12 month high of $157.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.02.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $389.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.24 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 18.91% and a negative return on equity of 472.31%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is 18.46%.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Choice Hotels International by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,423,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,070,000 after acquiring an additional 8,362 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Choice Hotels International by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 949,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,822,000 after acquiring an additional 9,490 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 402,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,419,000 after buying an additional 111,903 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Choice Hotels International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,201,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 69.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 292,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,577,000 after buying an additional 120,376 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.92.

Choice Hotels International Company Profile

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.