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

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the nineteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $230.59.

HLT has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

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

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLT. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 8.2% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,006 shares of the company's stock worth $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.5% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,450 shares of the company's stock worth $1,844,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. PGGM Investments lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 337.6% in the second quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 14,378 shares of the company's stock worth $3,137,000 after acquiring an additional 11,092 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 11.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 13,270 shares of the company's stock worth $2,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Finally, Clio Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 49.0% in the second quarter. Clio Asset Management LLC now owns 44,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,718,000 after buying an additional 14,641 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

NYSE HLT traded up $3.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $257.55. 525,280 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,538,646. The company's 50-day moving average is $243.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.65. Hilton Worldwide has a one year low of $175.80 and a one year high of $259.01. The company has a market capitalization of $62.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.30.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide's payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

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.