Bridgewater Associates LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,237 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,964 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC grew its stake in Choice Hotels International by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 843 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its position in Choice Hotels International by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 20,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,492,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Choice Hotels International by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. lifted its position in Choice Hotels International by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 12,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its position in Choice Hotels International by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 1,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

NYSE CHH opened at $151.24 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.91 and a twelve month high of $153.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $139.24 and a 200 day moving average of $127.73.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.31. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The company had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $432.62 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Choice Hotels International’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Choice Hotels International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Choice Hotels International news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 26,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.69, for a total transaction of $3,880,007.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,551,123.54. The trade was a 6.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.08, for a total value of $1,019,827.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 45,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,940,623.52. This trade represents a 14.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,437 shares of company stock worth $9,788,980. Corporate insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

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.