Raymond James Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Stock

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Raymond James from $250.00 to $290.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Raymond James’ target price indicates a potential upside of 9.13% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on HLT. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE HLT traded down $3.95 during trading on Monday, reaching $265.74. 371,260 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,445,939. The firm has a market cap of $64.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $250.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.10. Hilton Worldwide has a fifty-two week low of $186.83 and a fifty-two week high of $274.18.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 57.01%. Analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HLT. CWM LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 360.4% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 264.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 2,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 9,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,177,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

About Hilton Worldwide

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.