Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,210,000 shares, a decline of 7.5% from the November 30th total of 4,550,000 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HLT traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $247.16. 876,700 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,255,833. Hilton Worldwide has a twelve month low of $178.23 and a twelve month high of $259.01. The firm has a market cap of $60.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.04, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $248.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.82.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) 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 negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Truist Financial raised 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $232.65.

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.