Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Updates Q2 Earnings Guidance

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) updated its second quarter earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $1.80 to $1.86 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $1.87. Hilton Worldwide also updated its FY 2024 guidance to 6.890-7.030 EPS.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:HLT opened at $197.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25. Hilton Worldwide has a 12 month low of $134.43 and a 12 month high of $215.79. The business’s 50-day moving average is $205.31 and its 200 day moving average is $184.17.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.61 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 94.46% and a net margin of 11.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.59 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Macquarie raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $201.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total transaction of $4,204,967.52. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.