Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the nineteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $238.24.

A number of research firms have issued reports on HLT. Barclays increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $243.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE HLT traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $246.52. 827,688 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 974,244. The stock has a market cap of $60.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide has a one year low of $178.23 and a one year high of $259.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.24.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,456 shares of the company's stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 372 shares of the company's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth about $631,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,012,069,000 after acquiring an additional 121,900 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter valued at about $765,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Hilton Worldwide Company Profile

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.