Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Reaches New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $274.53 and last traded at $273.48, with a volume of 801535 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $269.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HLT. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Melius cut shares of Hilton Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $64.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's fifty day moving average is $252.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.81.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 57.01%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.