Gotham Asset Management LLC Acquires 5,318 Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 141.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,079 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,318 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $1,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Choice Hotels International by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Choice Hotels International by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Choice Hotels International by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Choice Hotels International by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 2,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $132.00 to $111.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $154.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $132.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $135.69.

Choice Hotels International Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE CHH opened at $130.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.05. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.22 and a 52 week high of $157.86.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $332.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $348.52 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 18.91% and a negative return on equity of 472.31%. The business’s revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.2875 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Choice Hotels International’s payout ratio is currently 17.56%.

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.