Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Price Target Lowered to $137.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $138.00 to $137.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target indicates a potential downside of 4.90% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CHH. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com raised Choice Hotels International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $150.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.67.

Choice Hotels International Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE CHH opened at $144.06 on Tuesday. Choice Hotels International has a twelve month low of $109.22 and a twelve month high of $157.86. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $145.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.78.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.10. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 18.91% and a negative return on equity of 472.31%. The company had revenue of $389.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $374.24 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 3,500 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.30, for a total value of $519,050.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 68,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,219,797.90. The trade was a 4.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Scott E. Oaksmith sold 1,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.40, for a total value of $257,032.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 32,014 shares in the company, valued at $4,622,821.60. This represents a 5.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Choice Hotels International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHH. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $2,193,000 after buying an additional 4,219 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the 3rd quarter worth $19,545,000. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International in the fourth quarter worth $879,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 82,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,661,000 after purchasing an additional 12,128 shares during the period. 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.