Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) SVP Sells $1,019,827.20 in Stock

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total transaction of $1,019,827.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,669 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,623.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

NYSE:CHH traded up $0.42 on Monday, hitting $130.45. The stock had a trading volume of 51,620 shares, compared to its average volume of 509,210. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.91 and a 52-week high of $134.44. The stock has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.77.

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

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is presently 24.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Choice Hotels International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Choice Hotels International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Choice Hotels International in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They set a “sell” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna initiated coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research note on Friday, June 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Choice Hotels International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHH. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in Choice Hotels International by 77.2% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,105,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788,563 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 144.2% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 939,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,402,000 after purchasing an additional 554,479 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 7.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,738,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,957,000 after purchasing an additional 195,956 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 917.2% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 161,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,254,000 after purchasing an additional 145,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 51.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,767,000 after purchasing an additional 90,765 shares in the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.