Mizuho Begins Coverage on Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT)

Mizuho began coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock.

HLT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $199.00 price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $197.78.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.5 %

HLT stock opened at $213.31 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $199.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.61. The stock has a market cap of $53.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.25. Hilton Worldwide has a 52-week low of $133.76 and a 52-week high of $215.79.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.11. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 94.46% and a net margin of 11.15%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.06 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.86%.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total transaction of $4,204,967.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,536,478 shares in the company, valued at $496,338,015.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $499,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at about $447,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 2,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at about $452,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Company Profile

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.