Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Short Interest Update

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) was the target of a large increase in short interest in 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 stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,420,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLT has been the topic of several research reports. Macquarie raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Melius lowered shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE HLT traded down $3.56 on Monday, reaching $265.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,698,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,501,977. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $252.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $237.97. Hilton Worldwide has a 12-month low of $193.43 and a 12-month high of $275.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 57.01% and a net margin of 13.74%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 77,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

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.