Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Reaches New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday after Bank of America downgraded the stock from a buy rating to an underperform rating. Bank of America now has a $110.00 price target on the stock. Choice Hotels International traded as low as $106.46 and last traded at $106.93, with a volume of 50102 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $109.45.

Several other research firms also recently commented on CHH. Barclays decreased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $144.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set an “underweight” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $129.15.

Insider Activity at Choice Hotels International

In other news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.54, for a total value of $642,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 70,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,111,043.74. This represents a 6.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,647,400. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHH. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,020,000. Clarion Wealth Managment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $263,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $973,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 7,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $991,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 2,051 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Choice Hotels International Trading Down 1.8%

The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $120.07 and its 200 day moving average is $125.07.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $426.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $430.13 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 19.52% and a negative return on equity of 575.73%. Choice Hotels International’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.69%.

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.