Sapient Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 1.5% in the third quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 6,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $812,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 2.1% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 5,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 7.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 42.2% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT grew its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 3.6% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 5,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. 65.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Choice Hotels International Stock Up 0.6 %

CHH opened at $120.70 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.02, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $121.27 and its 200 day moving average is $117.12. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.91 and a fifty-two week high of $136.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.21.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $358.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $369.44 million. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.74% and a return on equity of 594.23%. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Research analysts expect that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Choice Hotels International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were given a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CHH. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Choice Hotels International from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $140.00 to $137.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $114.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Choice Hotels International from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Choice Hotels International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.80.

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.