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

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,990,000 shares, a decrease of 9.3% from the October 31st total of 5,500,000 shares. Currently, 19.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 321,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 15.5 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $144.00 to $134.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.00.

Insider Activity at Choice Hotels International

In related news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 14.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,437 shares of company stock worth $9,788,980 in the last ninety days. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,788,563 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 941,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,046,000 after purchasing an additional 8,033 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 675,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,340,000 after buying an additional 26,289 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 364,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,557,000 after buying an additional 113,951 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 90,765 shares during the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CHH opened at $151.24 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $139.24 and a 200-day moving average of $127.73. 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. The firm has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. The firm had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $432.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is 22.03%.

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.