Short Interest in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Increases By 5.5%

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,000,000 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the January 15th total of 3,790,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Mizuho restated a "neutral" rating and set a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $246.61.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at $694,787,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429,537 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,898,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,952,314,000 after purchasing an additional 919,424 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 806,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,265,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $806,999,000 after purchasing an additional 685,023 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company's stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 3.2 %

HLT stock traded down $8.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $259.31. 1,797,425 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,530,336. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.64. Hilton Worldwide has a one year low of $193.86 and a one year high of $275.22. The company has a market cap of $62.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. Analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

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.