Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $238.24.

HLT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HLT. FMR LLC grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,148,000 after acquiring an additional 226,223 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,464,000 after buying an additional 1,282,676 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after buying an additional 121,900 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,624,000 after acquiring an additional 806,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $246.52 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $248.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.14. The company has a market cap of $60.10 billion, a PE ratio of 52.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide has a twelve month low of $178.23 and a twelve month high of $259.01.

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

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.