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

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,650,000 shares, a drop of 6.8% from the November 15th total of 4,990,000 shares. Currently, 17.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 317,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 14.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Choice Hotels International news, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total value of $1,019,827.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 45,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,940,623.52. The trade was a 14.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of Choice Hotels International 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 61,412 shares of company stock worth $8,582,271 in the last ninety days. 24.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. &PARTNERS purchased a new stake in Choice Hotels International during the 2nd quarter worth $366,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 14,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,940,000 after acquiring an additional 3,446 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International during the 3rd quarter worth $19,545,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International during the 3rd quarter worth $42,280,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 256.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,612,000 after acquiring an additional 19,939 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE CHH traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $145.17. 279,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 460,477. Choice Hotels International has a 1-year low of $108.91 and a 1-year high of $153.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.81 billion, a PE 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 (NYSE:CHH) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.62 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. Choice Hotels International’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.18.

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.