Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $201.28.

HLT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $157.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total transaction of $4,204,967.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,536,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,338,015.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,080,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 48.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $564,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $209.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.48, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.25. Hilton Worldwide has a one year low of $134.43 and a one year high of $215.79. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $203.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.50.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.11. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 94.46% and a net margin of 11.15%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.86%.

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.