Oak Thistle LLC Grows Position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,109 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 945 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CHH. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 77.2% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,105,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,788,563 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Choice Hotels International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $19,545,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Choice Hotels International by 45.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 364,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,557,000 after purchasing an additional 113,951 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 38.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 402,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,419,000 after purchasing an additional 111,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 51.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 266,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,767,000 after buying an additional 90,765 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Price Performance

NYSE:CHH opened at $142.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $144.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.04. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.91 and a 12 month high of $153.81.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. 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 business posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $129.00 target price (down from $145.00) on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total value of $1,042,480.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,656,336.70. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.