Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Takes Position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH – Get Rating) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 55,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,039,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 4.3% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 0.9% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 28.0% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 9.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 3.3% in the third quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 5,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. 58.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

In other Choice Hotels International news, Director William L. Jews sold 2,214 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.46, for a total value of $264,484.44. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,389 shares in the company, valued at $2,794,049.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Choice Hotels International news, Director William L. Jews sold 2,214 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.46, for a total value of $264,484.44. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,389 shares in the company, valued at $2,794,049.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Scott E. Oaksmith sold 1,680 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.05, for a total value of $211,764.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 33,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,209,313.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 90,521 shares of company stock worth $10,955,487 over the last quarter. 20.84% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Shares of Choice Hotels International stock opened at $115.36 on Friday. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a one year low of $104.15 and a one year high of $150.41. The company has a market cap of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.76, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $121.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.57.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.18. Choice Hotels International had a return on equity of 99.85% and a net margin of 23.69%. The firm had revenue of $362.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $356.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 3rd will be given a $0.287 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 31st. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.00%. This is an increase from Choice Hotels International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is currently 15.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Choice Hotels International from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $134.00 in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Choice Hotels International from $129.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Choice Hotels International from $107.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 16th. Redburn Partners assumed coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research report on Wednesday, November 30th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.13.

About Choice Hotels International

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Choice Hotels International, Inc engages in the franchising and operations of hotels. It operates through Hotel Franchising, and Corporate and Other segments. The Hotel Franchising segment refers to the hotel franchising operations consisting of the company’s several hotel brands. The Corporate and Other segment deals with hotel revenues and rental income related to office buildings owned by the company.