Hilton Grand Vacations (NYSE:HGV) Stock Rating Cut to Market Perform at Citizens Jmp

Hilton Grand Vacations (NYSE:HGV) was downgraded by analysts at Citizens Jmp from a “mkt outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on HGV. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Hilton Grand Vacations from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Hilton Grand Vacations from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hilton Grand Vacations from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Hilton Grand Vacations from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Hilton Grand Vacations from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hilton Grand Vacations currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $49.80.

Hilton Grand Vacations Trading Up 5.6%

NYSE HGV traded up $2.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $40.58. 107,013 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 994,038. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.81, a PEG ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.61. Hilton Grand Vacations has a 12-month low of $33.99 and a 12-month high of $55.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.29, a current ratio of 5.15 and a quick ratio of 3.35.

Hilton Grand Vacations (NYSE:HGV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $4.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $2.95. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. Hilton Grand Vacations had a return on equity of 39.73% and a net margin of 7.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Grand Vacations will post 4.48 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Grand Vacations declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, August 20th that permits the company to buy back $600 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 17% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Hilton Grand Vacations news, insider Charles Corbin, Jr. sold 20,691 shares of Hilton Grand Vacations stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.90, for a total transaction of $970,407.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 47,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,247,635.60. The trade was a 30.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilton Grand Vacations

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Hilton Grand Vacations in the second quarter worth about $63,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Hilton Grand Vacations by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Hilton Grand Vacations by 3.4% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG increased its holdings in Hilton Grand Vacations by 189.7% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in Hilton Grand Vacations in the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. 97.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hilton Grand Vacations

Hilton Grand Vacations Inc (NYSE:HGV) is a global vacation ownership company that markets and sells vacation intervals, points-based memberships and related travel experiences. Its portfolio includes branded vacation ownership resorts and accommodations in popular leisure destinations, with products designed to provide members with recurring access to vacation properties.

The company also provides resort management, reservation and customer services, financing for vacation ownership purchases, and exchange and travel-planning services.