Zacks Research Issues Negative Estimate for HLT Earnings

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) – Analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Hilton Worldwide in a research note issued on Thursday, February 20th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now forecasts that the company will earn $2.15 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.17. The consensus estimate for Hilton Worldwide’s current full-year earnings is $7.89 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hilton Worldwide’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.85 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.02 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.59 EPS.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on HLT. Raymond James increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Macquarie increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.56.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $257.92 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.87. Hilton Worldwide has a 1-year low of $193.86 and a 1-year high of $275.22. The firm has a market cap of $62.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,746,152.78. This trade represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. The trade was a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 repurchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.76%.

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.