Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 265,929 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,658 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $30,130,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 20,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,272,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Choice Hotels International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $430,000. Heritage Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International in the fourth quarter worth $258,000. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 86.4% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 61,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,968,000 after acquiring an additional 28,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 22,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,231 shares during the period. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Choice Hotels International from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $96.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $114.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $140.00 to $137.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $128.00 to $112.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Choice Hotels International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.70.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE CHH opened at $117.88 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $121.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.62. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a one year low of $108.91 and a one year high of $136.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.21.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $331.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $343.04 million. Choice Hotels International had a return on equity of 748.46% and a net margin of 15.34%. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is currently 24.68%.

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.