Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 (NYSE:HLT)

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th.

Hilton Worldwide has raised its dividend by an average of 58.7% per year over the last three years. Hilton Worldwide has a payout ratio of 7.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Hilton Worldwide to earn $8.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.3%.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of HLT stock traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $203.82. 202,045 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,478,086. Hilton Worldwide has a 12 month low of $134.43 and a 12 month high of $215.79. The stock has a market cap of $51.23 billion, a PE ratio of 47.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.32.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.12. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 94.46% and a net margin of 11.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on HLT. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $157.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $199.00 target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $190.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $245.00 to $242.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.94.

Insider Activity at Hilton Worldwide

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total transaction of $4,204,967.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,536,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,338,015.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.