Choice Hotels International’s (CHH) Underweight Rating Reiterated at Morgan Stanley

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reissued by research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $129.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $145.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 9.06% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on CHH. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.27.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Shares of CHH stock opened at $141.85 on Tuesday. Choice Hotels International has a 12 month low of $108.91 and a 12 month high of $153.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. The company has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $144.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.99.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The business had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $432.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total value of $1,042,480.40. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,045 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 4,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Choice Hotels International by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 402,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,419,000 after purchasing an additional 111,903 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,691,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 26.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,155,000 after buying an additional 3,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

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.