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

Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the twenty research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $246.61.

Several analysts recently issued reports on HLT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 price target (up previously from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HLT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter worth about $694,787,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,898,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,952,314,000 after acquiring an additional 919,424 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 33.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,265,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,999,000 after acquiring an additional 685,023 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of HLT stock opened at $259.31 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $253.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.12. Hilton Worldwide has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.39 billion, a PE ratio of 42.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (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 54.47%. Analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.89 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

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

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.