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

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 0.2875 per share on Wednesday, April 16th. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%.

Choice Hotels International has raised its dividend by an average of 18.7% per year over the last three years. Choice Hotels International has a dividend payout ratio of 15.3% meaning 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 Price Performance

Shares of CHH traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $147.45. The company had a trading volume of 96,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,374. The company has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.23. Choice Hotels International has a twelve month low of $108.91 and a twelve month high of $157.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $145.25 and its 200-day moving average is $138.97.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.10. Choice Hotels International had a negative return on equity of 472.31% and a net margin of 18.91%. The firm had revenue of $389.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $374.24 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Choice Hotels International will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Choice Hotels International from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Choice Hotels International from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Choice Hotels International from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Choice Hotels International from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.92.

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.