Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Price Target to $228.00

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) had its price target cut by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $277.00 to $228.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 14.56% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $258.00 to $251.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $263.00 price objective (up from $243.00) on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.50.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock traded down $2.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $199.02. The company had a trading volume of 412,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,669,036. Hilton Worldwide has a one year low of $189.75 and a one year high of $275.22. The firm has a market cap of $47.69 billion, a PE ratio of 32.42, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $245.34 and a 200 day moving average of $244.66.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%. As a group, research analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total transaction of $10,928,745.99. Following the sale, the insider now owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at $20,802,871.89. This represents a 34.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 15.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,756,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,479,354,000 after acquiring an additional 1,429,537 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,898,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,952,314,000 after purchasing an additional 919,424 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,225,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,786,151,000 after buying an additional 142,620 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Hilton Worldwide by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,910,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,456,893,000 after buying an additional 67,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,411,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,090,346,000 after acquiring an additional 320,550 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, 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.