Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.12 EPS

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 11.15% and a negative return on equity of 94.46%. Hilton Worldwide’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.3 %

HLT traded down $0.70 during trading on Thursday, reaching $204.00. 810,616 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,486,252. Hilton Worldwide has a fifty-two week low of $134.43 and a fifty-two week high of $215.79. The company has a market capitalization of $51.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.21, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $205.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.32.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on HLT. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. HSBC raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Mizuho decreased their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $245.00 to $242.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.33.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total value of $4,204,967.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,536,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,338,015.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.