Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Receives $252.71 Average Target Price from Analysts

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $254.53.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on HLT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 0.9 %

HLT opened at $234.69 on Friday. Hilton Worldwide has a 52 week low of $193.86 and a 52 week high of $275.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $251.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $244.76. The company has a market cap of $56.47 billion, a PE ratio of 38.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at about $694,787,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,479,354,000 after buying an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,898,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,952,314,000 after buying an additional 919,424 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 26.6% in the fourth 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. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 426.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 762,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,400,000 after acquiring an additional 617,604 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

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.