Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Rating Increased to Buy at Jefferies Financial Group

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) was upgraded by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $296.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $228.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.18% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on HLT. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $251.00 to $241.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $251.00 to $223.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $235.00 target price (down from $296.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $245.56.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $257.00 on Monday. Hilton Worldwide has a 1 year low of $194.93 and a 1 year high of $275.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $225.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.91. The stock has a market cap of $61.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.79, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.23.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.11. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 13.74% and a negative return on equity of 54.47%. The business had revenue of $2.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLT. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 78.7% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.