Essex Financial Services Inc. Takes $278,000 Position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Essex Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CHH. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Choice Hotels International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,201,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 69.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 292,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,577,000 after buying an additional 120,376 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Choice Hotels International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,354,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in Choice Hotels International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,779,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 85.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 134,188 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,052,000 after buying an additional 61,849 shares in the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

In other news, Director Ervin R. Shames sold 2,000 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.56, for a total transaction of $259,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 52,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,764,586.72. This trade represents a 3.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 70,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,111,043.74. This trade represents a 6.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 23.78% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Choice Hotels International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $132.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Choice Hotels International from $144.00 to $128.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Susquehanna set a $140.00 target price on Choice Hotels International and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Choice Hotels International from $124.00 to $115.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Choice Hotels International currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.31.

Choice Hotels International Stock Up 0.8%

CHH traded up $0.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.50. The company had a trading volume of 273,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 390,284. The stock has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.51. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.13 and a 52 week high of $157.86.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $332.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $348.52 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 377.51% and a net margin of 19.75%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Choice Hotels International's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.56%.

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.