Short Interest in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Increases By 5.5%

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,000,000 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the January 15th total of 3,790,000 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HLT. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $263.00 target price (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HLT opened at $265.96 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $252.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $237.97. Hilton Worldwide has a 1 year low of $193.43 and a 1 year high of $275.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.84 billion, a PE ratio of 43.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLT. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is currently 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.