Raymond James Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Stock

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Raymond James from $250.00 to $290.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Raymond James’ price target indicates a potential upside of 9.13% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on HLT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Melius lowered Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $246.61.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HLT traded down $3.95 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $265.74. The company had a trading volume of 371,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,445,939. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $250.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.10. The stock has a market cap of $64.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide has a 52-week low of $186.83 and a 52-week high of $274.18.

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

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HLT. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 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.