Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $252.54 and last traded at $252.50, with a volume of 135825 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $250.60.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLT has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Finally, Melius downgraded shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $60.96 billion, a PE ratio of 53.67, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $217.92.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. Hilton Worldwide’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is presently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total value of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,593,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,972,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 373,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,204,000 after purchasing an additional 63,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDT Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 7,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.