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

Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $238.24.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HLT shares. Melius lowered Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HLT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,676 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised 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 worth $745,624,000 after acquiring an additional 806,029 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 63.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,544,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,984,000 after acquiring an additional 600,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 23,730.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 479,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,104,610,000 after purchasing an additional 477,212 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $243.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.21, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide has a one year low of $179.77 and a one year high of $259.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.88.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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