Morgan Stanley Cuts Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Price Target to $83.00

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $83.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CHH. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $91.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $120.00 to $118.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Choice Hotels International in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $119.00 price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $111.36.

Choice Hotels International Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:CHH opened at $95.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.52, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.19. Choice Hotels International has a 1 year low of $84.04 and a 1 year high of $136.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 0.75.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $390.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $369.26 million. Choice Hotels International had a return on equity of 541.07% and a net margin of 23.17%.Choice Hotels International’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Choice Hotels International has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.920-7.140 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Choice Hotels International will post 7.07 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Choice Hotels International

In other news, SVP Simone Wu sold 8,080 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.56, for a total transaction of $820,604.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 48,803 shares in the company, valued at $4,956,432.68. This represents a 14.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 23.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 42.4% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 40,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,338,000 after purchasing an additional 12,082 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Choice Hotels International by 99.2% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 53,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,849,000 after acquiring an additional 26,880 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Choice Hotels International in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,020,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 1.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 403,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,224,000 after acquiring an additional 4,425 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Choice Hotels International by 546.7% in the second quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 10,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 9,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.57% of the company’s stock.

Choice Hotels International Company Profile

Choice Hotels International, Inc is a hospitality franchisor specializing in the development and support of lodging brands across the economy, midscale and upscale segments. Through a network of franchisees, Choice Hotels supplies proprietary reservation and distribution systems, comprehensive marketing programs, and operational support services. The company’s core activities include brand management, franchise development, and technology-driven revenue optimization tools designed to enhance guest acquisition and retention for its partners.

Founded in 1939 as Quality Courts United, the company rebranded to Choice Hotels International in 1982 to reflect its expanding brand portfolio and global ambitions.