Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Given New $152.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) had its price objective raised by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $150.00 to $152.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 6.07% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. 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 on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $123.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target 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. Four equities 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.36.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Shares of Choice Hotels International stock opened at $143.30 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $144.68 and a 200-day moving average of $132.67. Choice Hotels International has a 1-year low of $108.91 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, topping 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert J. Mcdowell sold 8,712 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.99, for a total transaction of $1,176,032.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 38,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,197,384.98. This trade represents a 18.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total transaction of $1,232,533.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,509 shares in the company, valued at $9,240,493.92. This trade represents a 11.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 53,572 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,444 in the last three months. Insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CHH. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 33.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 16,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,193,000 after acquiring an additional 4,219 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 3,446 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the third quarter valued at about $19,545,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 256.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 27,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,612,000 after purchasing an additional 19,939 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,280,000. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.