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

Key Points

• Choice Hotels International's stock hit a new 52-week low after Bank of America downgraded it from a buy to an underperform rating, with a target price now set at $110.00.
• The overall sentiment among analysts is bearish, with many maintaining underweight or sell ratings, and the average target price currently standing at $129.15.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2875 per share, indicating a yield of 1.1%, with a payout ratio of 17.69%.

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH - Get Free Report)'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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $109.45.

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

Insider Activity at Choice Hotels International

In other Choice Hotels International news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 5,000 shares of Choice Hotels International 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 owned 70,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,111,043.74. The trade was a 6.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,500 shares of company stock worth $1,647,400. 24.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International in the second quarter valued at about $5,020,000. Clarion Wealth Managment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International in the second quarter valued at about $263,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International in the second quarter valued at about $973,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury grew its stake in Choice Hotels International by 14.7% in the second quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 7,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $991,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 5.0% in the second quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 2,051 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Choice Hotels International Stock Down 1.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $120.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.07.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $426.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $430.13 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 575.73% and a net margin of 19.52%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Choice Hotels International's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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