Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $793,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHH. Caprock Group LLC grew its stake in Choice Hotels International by 2.7% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Choice Hotels International by 6.1% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,720,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Choice Hotels International in the third quarter worth $200,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Choice Hotels International by 2.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 218,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,735,000 after purchasing an additional 5,971 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Choice Hotels International by 9.3% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 6,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $799,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. 65.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 0.1 %

Choice Hotels International stock opened at $119.05 on Friday. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a one year low of $108.91 and a one year high of $136.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $120.76 and its 200 day moving average is $117.25. 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 has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.21.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.09. Choice Hotels International had a return on equity of 594.23% and a net margin of 16.74%. The company had revenue of $358.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $369.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. Choice Hotels International’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.46 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is 22.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $114.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Choice Hotels International from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Choice Hotels International from $140.00 to $137.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial increased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Choice Hotels International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.80.

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.