Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-four research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $326.3182.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HLT shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $266.00 to $321.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $297.00 to $330.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $289.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE HLT opened at $307.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $303.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.67. The company has a market cap of $70.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.10. Hilton Worldwide has a 12 month low of $196.04 and a 12 month high of $333.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.02 by $0.06. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 12.10% and a negative return on equity of 40.24%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Hilton Worldwide has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.490-8.610 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.910-1.970 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 114,289 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $317.47, for a total value of $36,283,328.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 36,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,570,194.15. This represents a 75.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth about $803,047,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Hilton Worldwide by 12.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,100,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,620,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,880 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 1,222.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 820,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,998,000 after buying an additional 758,930 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 62.6% in the 2nd quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,894,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $504,532,000 after purchasing an additional 729,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 126.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,138,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,173,000 after acquiring an additional 635,220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.90% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Company Profile

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc is a global hospitality company that develops, owns, manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts. Its business spans full-service luxury and lifestyle properties, select- and focused-service hotels, and extended-stay accommodations. The company generates revenue through management and franchise fees, owned and leased real estate, and guest services, and supports customer retention and direct bookings through its Hilton Honors guest loyalty program.

Hilton’s brand portfolio includes internationally recognized names across the lodging spectrum, from luxury and upper-upscale brands to midscale and extended-stay offerings.