Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 21st

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,NASDAQ Dividends reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st.

Hilton Worldwide has a dividend payout ratio of 6.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Hilton Worldwide to earn $9.17 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.5%.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $268.60 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $252.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.82. Hilton Worldwide has a 12-month low of $193.86 and a 12-month high of $275.22. The company has a market cap of $64.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.67, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.29.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 54.47%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the sale, the insider now owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. The trade was a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HLT shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.