Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) Short Interest Down 9.3% in November

by · The Markets Daily

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH – Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,990,000 shares, a drop of 9.3% from the October 31st total of 5,500,000 shares. Approximately 19.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 321,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 15.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on CHH. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Choice Hotels International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.00.

Read Our Latest Report on CHH

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

Shares of CHH stock traded down $0.85 on Tuesday, hitting $149.74. 203,655 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 468,871. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Choice Hotels International has a 12 month low of $108.91 and a 12 month high of $153.81. The stock has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $139.64 and a 200 day moving average of $128.01.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH – Get Free Report) last issued 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. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The business had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $432.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is 22.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Choice Hotels International news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total transaction of $1,232,533.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,240,493.92. This trade represents a 11.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total value of $1,206,709.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at $48,709,646.42. This trade represents a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,437 shares of company stock worth $9,788,980. 24.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CHH. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in Choice Hotels International by 12.9% during the third quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 843 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.5% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 20,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,492,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 4.7% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.9% in the third quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 7.4% in the second quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 1,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

About Choice Hotels International

(Get Free Report)

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.

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