Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Stock Price

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $134.00 to $141.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on CHH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Choice Hotels International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Choice Hotels International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Choice Hotels International from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.00.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of CHH stock opened at $146.29 on Wednesday. Choice Hotels International has a fifty-two week low of $108.91 and a fifty-two week high of $149.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.54. The company has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.02, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.24.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. The company had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Choice Hotels International’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

In related news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total value of $1,232,533.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,240,493.92. This trade represents a 11.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total transaction of $1,206,709.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at $48,709,646.42. The trade was a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,437 shares of company stock valued at $9,788,980. Company insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International in the third quarter valued at approximately $395,000. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 143,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,735,000 after purchasing an additional 34,396 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International in the third quarter worth $368,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International in the third quarter worth $63,000. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.