Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $265.6875.

HLT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $240.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $282.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $261.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $291.00 to $288.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.3%

HLT opened at $259.32 on Tuesday. Hilton Worldwide has a 52-week low of $196.04 and a 52-week high of $279.80. The company has a market cap of $60.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $267.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.43.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.16. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.84% and a negative return on equity of 46.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Hilton Worldwide has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.980-2.040 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.830-8.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher W. Silcock sold 11,905 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.40, for a total transaction of $3,207,207.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 79,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,404,099.40. This trade represents a 13.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the first quarter worth about $2,262,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 1st quarter worth approximately $314,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 163,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,155,000 after purchasing an additional 6,146 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Hilton Worldwide by 8.1% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,836,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,100,530,000 after buying an additional 364,307 shares during the period. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the first quarter valued at $316,000. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.