International Assets Investment Management LLC Makes New $24 Million Investment in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 21,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,000,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CHH. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 973.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,942,590 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,453,000 after buying an additional 2,668,582 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 51.6% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,740,428 shares of the company's stock worth $246,722,000 after purchasing an additional 592,654 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 3,270.3% during the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 365,478 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,951,000 after purchasing an additional 354,634 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 116.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 627,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $89,006,000 after purchasing an additional 337,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 604.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 364,744 shares of the company's stock worth $39,947,000 after purchasing an additional 312,978 shares in the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Shares of CHH traded down $1.33 on Thursday, reaching $124.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 571,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 574,499. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.91 and a 12-month high of $136.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.94, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.02, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $121.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.39.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $358.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $369.44 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 594.23%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Choice Hotels International's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CHH. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Choice Hotels International from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Choice Hotels International from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Robert W. Baird reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $138.00 target price on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Choice Hotels International from $114.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Choice Hotels International currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.40.

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.