Choice Hotels International, Inc. (CHH) To Go Ex-Dividend on January 2nd

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 11th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.2875 per share on Thursday, January 16th. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd.

Choice Hotels International has raised its dividend payment by an average of 72.3% annually over the last three years. Choice Hotels International has a payout ratio of 16.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Choice Hotels International to earn $7.16 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 16.1%.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

NYSE CHH opened at $141.22 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $144.22 and its 200-day moving average is $131.99. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23. Choice Hotels International has a 12-month low of $108.91 and a 12-month high of $153.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $428.00 million during 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 quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of Choice Hotels International 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,656,336.70. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total transaction of $1,232,533.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,240,493.92. This trade represents a 11.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,572 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,444 over the last ninety days. 24.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Choice Hotels International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Four 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.18.

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.