Anchor Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew 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 valued at $488,590,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788,563 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 675,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,340,000 after acquiring an additional 26,289 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 45.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 364,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,557,000 after acquiring an additional 113,951 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 51.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,767,000 after acquiring an additional 90,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Choice Hotels International by 917.2% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 161,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,254,000 after purchasing an additional 145,893 shares during the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Choice Hotels International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Four investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $134.18.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

Choice Hotels International stock opened at $146.45 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $142.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.86. The firm has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a PE ratio of 28.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a one year low of $108.91 and a one year high of $153.81.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.31. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The business had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $432.62 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. Choice Hotels International’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.03%.

Insider Activity at Choice Hotels International

In other Choice Hotels International news, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 1,714 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $231,390.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,084 shares in the company, valued at $2,441,340. The trade was a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 26,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.69, for a total value of $3,880,007.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,551,123.54. The trade was a 6.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,412 shares of company stock valued at $8,582,271 over the last three months. 24.02% of the stock is owned by 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.