Short Interest in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Declines By 6.8%

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,650,000 shares, a decrease of 6.8% from the November 15th total of 4,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 317,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 14.7 days. Approximately 17.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

In other news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,940,623.52. This represents a 14.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total transaction of $1,232,533.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,509 shares in the company, valued at $9,240,493.92. This represents a 11.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,412 shares of company stock valued at $8,582,271. 24.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position in Choice Hotels International by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 20,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,492,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Choice Hotels International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Four 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Choice Hotels International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.18.

Choice Hotels International Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CHH traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $145.17. 279,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 460,477. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. Choice Hotels International has a twelve month low of $108.91 and a twelve month high of $153.81.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is currently 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.