Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,963 Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,963 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.06% of Choice Hotels International worth $3,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CHH. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 33.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,193,000 after buying an additional 4,219 shares during the period. &PARTNERS acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International in the second quarter valued at about $366,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Choice Hotels International by 30.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 14,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,940,000 after acquiring an additional 3,446 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International in the third quarter worth about $19,545,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International during the third quarter worth about $42,280,000. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Trading Up 0.4 %

Choice Hotels International stock opened at $140.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $143.43 and a 200-day moving average of $130.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.71. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a one year low of $108.91 and a one year high of $153.81.

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

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $134.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

In other news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total value of $1,232,533.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,240,493.92. This trade represents a 11.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.95, for a total value of $1,042,480.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at $58,656,336.70. The trade was a 1.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,572 shares of company stock worth $7,562,444 over the last quarter. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.