Short Interest in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Decreases By 7.5%

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) was the recipient 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. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,380,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total value of $3,384,375.61. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 20.8% during the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at about $361,000. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 10.5% in the second quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 1,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 33.7% during the second quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HLT. Melius Research reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $243.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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 report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $232.65.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 0.4 %

HLT stock traded down $1.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $247.16. The company had a trading volume of 876,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,255,833. Hilton Worldwide has a one year low of $178.23 and a one year high of $259.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $248.02 and a 200-day moving average of $229.69. 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.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that permits the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

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

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.