Macquarie Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT)

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Macquarie in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $192.00 target price on the stock. Macquarie’s price target indicates a potential downside of 6.59% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on HLT. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $245.00 to $242.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.78.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 4.3 %

HLT stock traded up $8.51 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $205.55. 2,249,145 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,482,467. The stock has a market cap of $51.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.17. Hilton Worldwide has a one year low of $134.43 and a one year high of $215.79.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 11.15% and a negative return on equity of 94.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total transaction of $4,204,967.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,536,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,338,015.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HLT. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 66.7% during the first quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 125 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC now owns 5,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,080,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 48.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 171 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.