Hilton Worldwide Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HLT)

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 32,074 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,098% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,677 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HLT. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $199.00 price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were 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 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 accessible through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 66.7% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE:HLT traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $204.33. 745,010 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,485,137. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.00, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.25. Hilton Worldwide has a 52-week low of $134.43 and a 52-week high of $215.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $205.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $184.32.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.53 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 11.15% and a negative return on equity of 94.46%. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.