Choice Hotels International, Inc. (CHH) To Go Ex-Dividend on July 1st

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 15th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a dividend of 0.2875 per share on Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st.

Choice Hotels International has raised its dividend by an average of 72.3% per year over the last three years. Choice Hotels International has a dividend payout ratio of 16.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Choice Hotels International to earn $6.86 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.15 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.8%.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHH opened at $119.00 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $118.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. Choice Hotels International has a 52-week low of $108.91 and a 52-week high of $136.02.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.13. Choice Hotels International had a return on equity of 748.46% and a net margin of 15.34%. The firm had revenue of $331.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $343.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Choice Hotels International

In related news, insider Robert J. Mcdowell sold 1,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.58, for a total value of $146,151.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 38,502 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,527,065.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on CHH shares. Susquehanna began coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research note on Friday, June 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised Choice Hotels International from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Choice Hotels International from $140.00 to $137.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $128.00 to $112.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $146.00 to $144.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Choice Hotels International presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.09.

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.