Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.29

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.2875 per share on Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st.

Choice Hotels International has raised its dividend payment by an average of 18.7% annually over the last three years. Choice Hotels International has a payout ratio of 14.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Choice Hotels International to earn $7.41 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 15.5%.

Choice Hotels International Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE CHH opened at $131.35 on Friday. Choice Hotels International has a twelve month low of $109.22 and a twelve month high of $157.86. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $142.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.80. The company has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.25.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $389.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.24 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 18.91% and a negative return on equity of 472.31%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Choice Hotels International

In related news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.30, for a total value of $519,050.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,913 shares in the company, valued at $10,219,797.90. This represents a 4.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott E. Oaksmith sold 1,780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.40, for a total transaction of $257,032.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 32,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,622,821.60. This trade represents a 5.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on CHH shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $131.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Choice Hotels International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.62.

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.