Analysts Set Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Target Price at $228.71

Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $228.71.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HLT shares. Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 11,503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.4% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 132,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,619,000 after purchasing an additional 5,650 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 4,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 44.9% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,464,000 after buying an additional 6,002 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of HLT stock opened at $249.11 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide has a twelve month low of $165.25 and a twelve month high of $255.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management 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.