Short Interest in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Increases By 8.8%

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,450,000 shares, a growth of 8.8% from the January 15th total of 5,010,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 303,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 18.0 days. Currently, 20.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Choice Hotels International Stock Down 0.6 %

CHH stock opened at $146.06 on Tuesday. Choice Hotels International has a 12-month low of $108.91 and a 12-month high of $156.25. The firm has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.98, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.89.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in Choice Hotels International by 33.4% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,219 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Choice Hotels International by 30.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 14,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,940,000 after purchasing an additional 3,446 shares in the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Choice Hotels International in the fourth quarter valued at $879,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Choice Hotels International in the third quarter valued at $19,545,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 3,087.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 21,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,009,000 after acquiring an additional 20,530 shares in the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CHH. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.33.

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.