Hilton Worldwide Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HLT)

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT – Get Rating) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 67,903 call options on the company. This is an increase of 3,726% compared to the average daily volume of 1,775 call options.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $136.85 on Thursday. Hilton Worldwide has a fifty-two week low of $108.41 and a fifty-two week high of $152.89. The company has a market capitalization of $36.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.64.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.10. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 141.34% and a net margin of 13.36%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.71 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 19th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 18th. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is currently 13.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Douglas M. Steenland acquired 695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $143.73 per share, with a total value of $99,892.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 26,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,863.62. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ETF Managers Group LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. ETF Managers Group LLC now owns 4,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Resources Investment Advisors LLC. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Resources Investment Advisors LLC. now owns 2,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 12,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $168.00 to $166.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $160.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 27th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.81.

About Hilton Worldwide

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Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc engages in the provision of hospitality businesses. It operates through the following segments: Ownership and Management & Franchise. The Ownership segment includes owned, leased, and joint venture hotels. The Management and Franchise segment operates hotels of third-party owners.