Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,210,000 shares, a decline of 7.5% from the November 30th total of 4,550,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,380,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days. Approximately 1.8% of the company's shares are sold short.
Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Melius lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $232.65.
View Our Latest Report on Hilton Worldwide
HLT stock traded down $1.04 on Wednesday, hitting $247.16. The company had a trading volume of 876,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,255,833. Hilton Worldwide has a 12-month low of $178.23 and a 12-month high of $259.01. The stock has a market cap of $60.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $248.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.69.
Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. Hilton Worldwide's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.88%.
Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter worth $765,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company's stock worth $1,012,069,000 after buying an additional 121,900 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,628,000 after acquiring an additional 7,583 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 201.4% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 181,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,853,000 after acquiring an additional 121,322 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
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