The Goldman Sachs Group Raises Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Price Target to $138.00

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) had its target price raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $118.00 to $138.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a sell rating on the stock.

CHH has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $113.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Susquehanna raised their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.27.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:CHH opened at $146.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $142.22 and its 200-day moving average is $129.52. The company has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.23. Choice Hotels International has a 52-week low of $108.91 and a 52-week high of $153.81.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.2875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is presently 22.03%.

Insider Transactions at Choice Hotels International

In other news, insider Patrick Cimerola sold 1,714 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $231,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,084 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,441,340. This trade represents a 8.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total transaction of $1,042,480.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,656,336.70. This represents a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 61,412 shares of company stock valued at $8,582,271. 24.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Choice Hotels International by 307.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 129.4% in the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 1,146.9% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Choice Hotels International in the third quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International during the 2nd quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

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.