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

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,210,000 shares, a decline of 7.5% from the November 30th total of 4,550,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at $5,382,423.09. This trade represents a 38.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the 3rd quarter valued at $765,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,090,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,012,069,000 after acquiring an additional 121,900 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 35.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 28,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,628,000 after purchasing an additional 7,583 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 201.4% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 181,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,853,000 after acquiring an additional 121,322 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Melius lowered Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $232.65.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of HLT stock traded down $1.04 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $247.16. 876,700 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,255,833. Hilton Worldwide has a 1 year low of $178.23 and a 1 year high of $259.01. The stock has a market cap of $60.25 billion, a PE ratio of 53.04, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $248.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.82.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 12.88%.

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.