Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nineteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $238.24.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HLT. Mizuho increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:HLT opened at $254.13 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $249.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $233.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide has a 12-month low of $186.83 and a 12-month high of $259.01.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 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. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,234,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $745,624,000 after buying an additional 806,029 shares in the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC increased 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 buying an additional 600,593 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $1,104,610,000 after buying an additional 477,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,215,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,585,148,000 after buying an additional 226,223 shares in the last quarter. 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.