Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 (NYSE:HLT)

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th.

Hilton Worldwide has increased its dividend payment by an average of 58.7% per year over the last three years. Hilton Worldwide has a payout ratio of 7.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Hilton Worldwide to earn $8.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.3%.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:HLT traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $203.82. 202,045 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,478,086. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $205.55 and its 200-day moving average is $184.32. Hilton Worldwide has a twelve month low of $134.43 and a twelve month high of $215.79. The firm has a market cap of $51.23 billion, a PE ratio of 47.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.25.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 94.46% and a net margin of 11.15%. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total value of $4,204,967.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,536,478 shares in the company, valued at $496,338,015.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. HSBC lifted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $157.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.94.

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.