Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Price Target Raised to $362.00

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $349.00 to $362.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on HLT. TD Cowen upgraded Hilton Worldwide to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $363.00 price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $363.57.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $356.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $325.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $320.76. Hilton Worldwide has a 12-month low of $253.54 and a 12-month high of $364.50. The company has a market cap of $79.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.10.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.08. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 33.78% and a net margin of 13.40%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.11 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 9.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, Director Chris Carr sold 439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.34, for a total transaction of $136,239.26. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,560,925.68. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 7,289 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.81, for a total value of $2,258,205.09. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,365,622.98. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 158,778 shares of company stock worth $56,196,944. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hilton Worldwide by 1.2% during the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 3,058 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Range Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 4.5% in the second quarter. Range Advisory LLC now owns 860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.2% in the second quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 1,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 29.7% in the third quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.1% in the second quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 3,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,176,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Hilton Worldwide

Here are the key news stories impacting Hilton Worldwide this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho upgraded Hilton to “outperform” from “neutral” and lifted its price target to $421 from $329, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. The upgrade reflects increased confidence in Hilton’s earnings and growth outlook. Mizuho upgrade article
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating on HLT, while Susquehanna, Wells Fargo and Robert W. Baird issued favorable outlooks or increased their price targets. The cluster of supportive recommendations may reinforce the bullish sentiment surrounding the stock. Goldman Sachs coverage Susquehanna forecast Wells Fargo price target Baird outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary on consumer-cyclical companies, including Hilton, adds visibility but does not introduce a major new operating catalyst. Hilton’s latest reported quarter showed earnings above consensus and year-over-year revenue growth, supporting the favorable analyst tone. Consumer cyclical analyst commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays lowered its expectations for Hilton’s stock price, creating a counterpoint to the broader analyst optimism and potentially limiting near-term gains. Barclays Hilton outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Chief financial officer Kevin Jacobs sold 151,050 HLT shares for approximately $53.8 million, reducing his holdings by 33.96%. Although insider sales can be planned for personal or diversification reasons, the transaction may weigh on sentiment because it occurred while the stock was near record highs. SEC insider sale filing

About Hilton Worldwide

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc is a global hospitality company that develops, owns, manages, franchises and licenses hotels, resorts and other lodging properties. Its portfolio includes brands such as Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites, Hampton by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, Home2 Suites and Tru by Hilton.

The company provides accommodations and related services for business and leisure travelers, including guest rooms, meeting and event facilities, food and beverage operations, resort amenities and loyalty program benefits through Hilton Honors.