StockNews.com Lowers Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on CHH. Susquehanna started coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Friday, June 21st. They issued a neutral rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Choice Hotels International from $144.00 to $134.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Choice Hotels International in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a sell rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Choice Hotels International from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $127.25.

Choice Hotels International Stock Down 0.5 %

CHH stock opened at $130.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $125.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.25. Choice Hotels International has a 52-week low of $108.91 and a 52-week high of $134.44.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its 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). Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 15.42% and a negative return on equity of 3,953.67%. The business had revenue of $435.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $438.29 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International will post 6.38 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is 24.68%.

Insider Activity at Choice Hotels International

In other Choice Hotels International news, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 13,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.08, for a total transaction of $1,658,435.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,934,501.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 13,259 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.08, for a total transaction of $1,658,435.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 23,461 shares in the company, valued at $2,934,501.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 13,117 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.45, for a total value of $1,632,410.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 69,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,608,330.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,401 shares of company stock valued at $4,497,556 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CHH. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International during the 2nd quarter worth $1,502,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the second quarter valued at $799,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Choice Hotels International in the second quarter valued at about $387,000. Sepio Capital LP boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 4.2% in the second quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 10,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its position in Choice Hotels International by 106.1% in the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 8,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 4,326 shares during the period. 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.