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

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $228.71.

HLT has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Melius lowered Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the 3rd 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in 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 worth $1,037,464,000 after buying an additional 1,282,676 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 66.3% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,127,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,148,000 after buying an additional 1,246,662 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after acquiring an additional 806,029 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 10.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,044,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,715,908,000 after acquiring an additional 761,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

HLT stock opened at $252.93 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide has a one year low of $165.25 and a one year high of $255.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.28, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $237.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.30.

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. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 presently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.