Choice Hotels International, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.29 (NYSE:CHH)

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, September 13th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.287 per share on Tuesday, October 17th. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 29th.

Choice Hotels International has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Choice Hotels International has a payout ratio of 16.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Choice Hotels International to earn $6.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.15 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 16.8%.

Choice Hotels International Stock Up 1.9 %

Choice Hotels International stock opened at $126.48 on Friday. Choice Hotels International has a 1-year low of $104.15 and a 1-year high of $136.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 25.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.90.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $427.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $422.69 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 223.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.43 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Choice Hotels International will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Choice Hotels International news, CFO Dominic Dragisich sold 15,877 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.55, for a total value of $1,977,480.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,739 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,429,692.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 23.07% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 607.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 22,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,648,000 after acquiring an additional 19,346 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the second quarter valued at about $206,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised 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 acquiring an additional 354,634 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 32.3% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 32,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,826,000 after acquiring an additional 7,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the second quarter valued at about $280,000. 68.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $135.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $113.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, 888 reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Choice Hotels International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.83.

About Choice Hotels International

Choice Hotels International, Inc together with its subsidiaries, operates as a hotel franchisor. The company operates through Hotel Franchising & Management and Other segments. It franchises lodging properties under the brand names of Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, Sleep Inn, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, WoodSpring Suites, Everhome Suites, Cambria Hotels, Ascend Hotel Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites, Radisson Inn & Suites , Park Inn by Radisson, Radisson Individuals, and Radisson Collection.