New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stake in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,422 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $2,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHH. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Choice Hotels International by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,177,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $389,298,000 after buying an additional 207,019 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 4.4% in the third quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,162,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,871,000 after purchasing an additional 91,351 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 1.3% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 878,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,676,000 after buying an additional 11,368 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 328,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,251,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 221,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,133,000 after buying an additional 71,398 shares during the last quarter. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Choice Hotels International Trading Down 5.3 %

Shares of Choice Hotels International stock opened at $115.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.21. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.91 and a 52-week high of $136.02. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $117.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.02.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $369.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is currently 22.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHH has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Choice Hotels International from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $156.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $114.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Choice Hotels International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $140.00 to $137.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.80.

Choice Hotels International Company 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.