Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) Price Target Lowered to $115.00 at Morgan Stanley

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $115.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would indicate a potential downside of 8.21% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on CHH. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Choice Hotels International from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $132.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $154.00 to $133.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered Choice Hotels International from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Choice Hotels International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $135.69.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHH traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.29. The stock had a trading volume of 5,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,505. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $133.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.08. Choice Hotels International has a 1 year low of $109.22 and a 1 year high of $157.86. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.08.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Scott E. Oaksmith sold 1,780 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction on 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 owns 32,014 shares in the company, valued at $4,622,821.60. This trade represents a 5.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 3,500 shares of the company's 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 24.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Choice Hotels International

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CHH. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Choice Hotels International by 66.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 256 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Choice Hotels International during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Choice Hotels International by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 430 shares of the company's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Choice Hotels International during the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Institutional investors own 65.57% of the company's stock.

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.