Guggenheim Capital LLC Takes Position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Guggenheim Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,176 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CHH. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $737,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in Choice Hotels International during the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,697 shares of the company's stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 17,902 shares of the company's stock worth $2,541,000 after purchasing an additional 6,493 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 19,335 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,745,000 after purchasing an additional 1,947 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Choice Hotels International

In related news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.30, for a total transaction of $519,050.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,219,797.90. The trade was a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott E. Oaksmith sold 1,780 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.40, for a total value of $257,032.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 32,014 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,622,821.60. This represents a 5.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on CHH. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Choice Hotels International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Choice Hotels International from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $141.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Choice Hotels International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $132.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Choice Hotels International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $135.69.

Choice Hotels International Stock Up 1.5 %

CHH traded up $1.86 during trading on Friday, hitting $127.54. 103,162 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 409,030. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.08. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a one year low of $109.22 and a one year high of $157.86. The stock's fifty day moving average is $130.80 and its 200 day moving average is $139.84.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.10. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 18.91% and a negative return on equity of 472.31%. The company had revenue of $389.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.24 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Choice Hotels International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.46%.

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.