Verition Fund Management LLC Sells 6,783 Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Verition Fund Management LLC lessened its stake in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 50.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,696 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,783 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Choice Hotels International during the third quarter worth about $237,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 17,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,266,000 after buying an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 256.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,612,000 after acquiring an additional 19,939 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 14.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $383,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Choice Hotels International during the third quarter worth $358,000. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Choice Hotels International news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 7,192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Simone Wu sold 7,840 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 61,412 shares of company stock worth $8,582,271. 24.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Choice Hotels International in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $133.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.45.

Choice Hotels International Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of CHH stock opened at $143.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.09. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.91 and a 1 year high of $153.81. 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 (NYSE:CHH) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $428.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.62 million. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 659.01% and a net margin of 16.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is 22.03%.

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.