Ethic Inc. Takes $659,000 Position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. $CHH

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has acquired a new stake of 4,961 shares in Choice Hotels International, valued at approximately $659,000 during the first quarter.
• Recent analyst reports show a mix of ratings and price targets for CHH, with JPMorgan Chase initiating coverage with an "underweight" rating and a $124 price objective.
• Choice Hotels reported earnings of $1.92 per share in its latest quarter, slightly beating analyst expectations of $1.90, despite a revenue decline of 2.0% year-over-year.

Ethic Inc. acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CHH. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,069 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 3,062 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 6,300 shares of the company's stock valued at $837,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 66.2% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 256 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 64.7% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 275 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CHH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Choice Hotels International in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $121.00 target price on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $149.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Choice Hotels International from $144.00 to $136.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Choice Hotels International from $121.00 to $117.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Choice Hotels International presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $133.38.

Choice Hotels International Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CHH traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $119.44. 280,291 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 450,452. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.96. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.20 and a 1 year high of $157.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $127.25 and a 200 day moving average of $130.21.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

In other news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.54, for a total value of $642,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 70,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,111,043.74. This represents a 6.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,647,400 over the last quarter. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Choice Hotels International 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.