Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $150.35 and last traded at $149.88, with a volume of 11740 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $149.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on CHH shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of 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. UBS Group cut their target price on Choice Hotels International from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Choice Hotels International from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Choice Hotels International from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.00.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $136.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.30.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $432.62 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is 22.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 1,714 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $231,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,340. This represents a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $58,656,336.70. This represents a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,437 shares of company stock worth $9,788,980. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.5% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 20,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,492,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Choice Hotels International by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV increased its position in Choice Hotels International by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 1,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is 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.