Melius Lowers Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) to Hold

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) was downgraded by analysts at Melius from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday, Briefing.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $224.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $205.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.05.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:HLT opened at $238.81 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.31. Hilton Worldwide has a 1 year low of $146.36 and a 1 year high of $240.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $222.71 and a 200-day moving average of $213.42.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.05. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 69.65% and a net margin of 11.20%. The company had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at $3,460,933. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 36.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,754,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,464,000 after buying an additional 1,282,676 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 66.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,127,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,246,662 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,044,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,715,908,000 after acquiring an additional 761,104 shares in the last quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the second quarter valued at approximately $98,607,000. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 6,417.6% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 442,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,634,000 after purchasing an additional 436,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

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.