Share Repurchase Plan Announced by Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Board

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HLT shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Melius Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:HLT opened at $248.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $60.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide has a 12-month low of $164.93 and a 12-month high of $255.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $232.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $218.15.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,949 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

About Hilton Worldwide

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc, a hospitality company, engages in managing, franchising, owning, and leasing hotels and resorts. It operates through two segments, Management and Franchise, and Ownership. The company engages in the hotel management and licensing of its brands. It operates luxury hotels under the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, and Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand; lifestyle hotels under the Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Tempo by Hilton, and Motto by Hilton brand; full service hotels under the Signia by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and DoubleTree by Hilton brand; service hotels under the Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, and Tru by Hilton brand; all-suite hotels under the Embassy Suites by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Home2 Suites by Hilton brand; and economy hotel under the Spark by Hilton brand, as well as Hilton Grand Vacations.