Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Short Interest Update

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,990,000 shares, a drop of 9.3% from the October 31st total of 5,500,000 shares. Approximately 19.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 321,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 15.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CHH shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Choice Hotels International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “sell” 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Choice Hotels International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.00.

Choice Hotels International Stock Down 0.4 %

CHH opened at $149.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $139.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.01. The company has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.23. Choice Hotels International has a 1-year low of $108.91 and a 1-year high of $153.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Choice Hotels International news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,240,493.92. The trade was a 11.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,656,336.70. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,437 shares of company stock valued at $9,788,980 in the last quarter. Insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 307.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 129.4% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Choice Hotels International by 1,146.9% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Choice Hotels International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Choice Hotels International in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. 65.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Choice Hotels International Company Profile

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.