Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Receives $238.24 Consensus PT from Analysts

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven 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 covered the stock in the last year is $238.24.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HLT shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.0 %

HLT stock opened at $241.21 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $248.87 and a 200-day moving average of $230.70. The company has a market cap of $58.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.76, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide has a 12-month low of $179.64 and a 12-month high of $259.01.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLT. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $765,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,069,000 after purchasing an additional 121,900 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,628,000 after buying an additional 7,583 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 201.4% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 181,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,853,000 after acquiring an additional 121,322 shares in the last quarter. 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.