KBC Group NV Raises Holdings in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

KBC Group NV raised its stake in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 3,087.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,195 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,530 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $3,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CHH. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 81.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the third quarter worth $63,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 12.9% in the third quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Choice Hotels International in the fourth quarter valued at $125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.92.

Insider Transactions at Choice Hotels International

In related news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $58,656,336.70. This represents a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Shares of CHH opened at $147.19 on Friday. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.91 and a fifty-two week high of $153.81. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.04. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.24.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last announced its 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. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The company had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $432.62 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is currently 22.03%.

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.