Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) CEO Patrick Pacious Sells 7,192 Shares

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Patrick Pacious also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, November 6th, Patrick Pacious sold 26,816 shares of Choice Hotels International stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.69, for a total value of $3,880,007.04.
• On Tuesday, September 10th, Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of Choice Hotels International stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total transaction of $1,206,709.25.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

NYSE:CHH opened at $144.22 on Friday. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.91 and a twelve month high of $149.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $133.93 and a 200-day moving average of $125.35.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.31. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. The business had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Choice Hotels International’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is 22.03%.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Choice Hotels International in the 3rd quarter worth about $19,545,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 70.0% in the third quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 29,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,877,000 after acquiring an additional 12,253 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International during the third quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 9.1% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 256.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,612,000 after acquiring an additional 19,939 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CHH. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Choice Hotels International from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Choice Hotels International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.00.

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.