1,675 Shares in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Bought by Aureus Asset Management LLC

Aureus Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CHH. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the first quarter worth about $1,089,000. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN acquired a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International in the second quarter valued at approximately $328,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 161.3% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 6,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 7.4% during the second quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 1,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Choice Hotels International

In related news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at $58,656,336.70. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 1,714 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $231,390.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,340. This trade represents a 8.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,437 shares of company stock valued at $9,788,980. Insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.00.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

CHH stock opened at $150.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.24 and a 200-day moving average of $127.79. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.91 and a 12-month high of $153.81.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. Choice Hotels International’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.