Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases Shares of 3,033 Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 77.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,105,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788,563 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International in the third quarter worth $19,545,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 917.2% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 161,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,254,000 after purchasing an additional 145,893 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 364,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,557,000 after buying an additional 113,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,767,000 after buying an additional 90,765 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Choice Hotels International stock opened at $145.17 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $142.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.25. 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 company has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.91 and a twelve month high of $153.81.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $432.62 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.2875 dividend. 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 0.79%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. 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 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total transaction of $1,019,827.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 45,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,623.52. This represents a 14.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total value of $1,232,533.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,240,493.92. This represents a 11.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,412 shares of company stock valued at $8,582,271 over the last three months. 24.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.