Choice Hotels International, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.29 (NYSE:CHH)

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 14th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.2875 per share on Wednesday, July 16th. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st.

Choice Hotels International has raised its dividend payment by an average of 18.7% per year over the last three years. Choice Hotels International has a payout ratio of 15.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Choice Hotels International to earn $7.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.15 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.5%.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Choice Hotels International stock opened at $128.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.00. Choice Hotels International has a 1 year low of $109.22 and a 1 year high of $157.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.12.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CHH. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $141.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $137.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $154.00 to $133.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $132.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Choice Hotels International news, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 3,500 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott E. Oaksmith sold 1,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.40, for a total transaction of $257,032.00. Following the completion of 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. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.