Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Given Average 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 firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten equities 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 brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $209.53.

HLT has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Macquarie increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Susquehanna initiated coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Friday, June 21st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $215.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $205.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $51.41 billion, a PE ratio of 44.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $213.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.30. Hilton Worldwide has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $229.03.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 11.41% and a negative return on equity of 81.29%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, August 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 23rd. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 13.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, Director Melanie Healey bought 2,000 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $199.65 per share, for a total transaction of $399,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,982,371.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chase Investment Counsel Corp bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,480,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,792,000. AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 43.4% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 14,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,008,000 after acquiring an additional 4,265 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 137,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,375,000 after acquiring an additional 4,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Syon Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $447,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Hilton Worldwide

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.