Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Issues Q2 Earnings Guidance

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) issued an update on its second quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of $1.80 to $1.86 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.87. Hilton Worldwide also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.890-7.030 EPS.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

HLT traded up $7.66 on Wednesday, reaching $204.70. 3,116,188 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,495,048. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $205.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.17. Hilton Worldwide has a fifty-two week low of $134.43 and a fifty-two week high of $215.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.45 billion, a PE ratio of 47.45, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.11. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 94.46% and a net margin of 11.15%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 22nd. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Macquarie restated a neutral rating and issued a $192.00 price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $201.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total value of $4,204,967.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,536,478 shares in the company, valued at $496,338,015.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company 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.