Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Increases Position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 20.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,585 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,257 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $3,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 144.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 198 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 307.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 163.2% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 129.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHH has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $144.00 to $134.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Susquehanna initiated coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research note on Friday, June 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.27.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:CHH opened at $125.09 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $124.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.24. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.91 and a 1 year high of $134.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $435.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $438.29 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 3,953.67% and a net margin of 15.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.38 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is currently 24.68%.

Insider Transactions at Choice Hotels International

In other news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total value of $1,206,709.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,709,646.42. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 13,117 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.45, for a total value of $1,632,410.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 69,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,608,330.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total value of $1,206,709.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,709,646.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 36,401 shares of company stock valued at $4,497,556. 24.02% of the stock is currently 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.