Choice Hotels International, Inc. (CHH) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.29 on October 16th

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 11th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of 0.2875 per share on Wednesday, October 16th. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st.

Choice Hotels International has raised its dividend by an average of 72.3% per year over the last three years. Choice Hotels International has a dividend payout ratio of 16.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Choice Hotels International to earn $6.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.15 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.9%.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

NYSE CHH opened at $122.39 on Friday. Choice Hotels International has a 1 year low of $108.91 and a 1 year high of $134.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. The company has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.25.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.86 by ($0.02). Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 15.42% and a negative return on equity of 3,953.67%. The business had revenue of $435.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $438.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Choice Hotels International will post 6.38 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $114.00 to $112.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Choice Hotels International from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $120.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Susquehanna assumed coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research report on Friday, June 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Choice Hotels International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.27.

Insider Transactions at Choice Hotels International

In related news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total value of $1,206,709.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,709,646.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Choice Hotels International news, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 13,259 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.08, for a total transaction of $1,658,435.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 23,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,934,501.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total transaction of $1,206,709.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,709,646.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,401 shares of company stock valued at $4,497,556. Corporate insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

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.