Freedom Broker Begins Coverage on Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT)

Equities researchers at Freedom Broker started coverage on shares of Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $359.00 price target on the stock. Freedom Broker’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.50% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on HLT. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $363.00 target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $379.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Hilton Worldwide from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $365.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $332.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $354.39.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

NYSE HLT traded down $1.72 on Wednesday, hitting $327.87. 965,122 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,878,152. The firm has a market cap of $73.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $317.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $323.94. Hilton Worldwide has a fifty-two week low of $253.54 and a fifty-two week high of $358.00.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 35.24% and a net margin of 12.69%. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. Hilton Worldwide has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.280-2.340 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.890-9.010 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Chris Carr sold 439 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.34, for a total value of $136,239.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,560,925.68. This represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 7,289 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.81, for a total value of $2,258,205.09. Following the sale, the insider owned 33,458 shares in the company, valued at $10,365,622.98. This represents a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilton Worldwide

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HLT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the second quarter valued at $6,271,258,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,733,669,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the second quarter worth $663,882,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide during the 2nd quarter valued at about $437,227,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the second quarter worth approximately $389,475,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Hilton Worldwide

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc is a global hospitality company that develops, manages, franchises and licenses hotels, resorts and other lodging properties. The company serves business and leisure travelers through a broad portfolio of brands spanning luxury, full-service, focused-service, extended-stay and lifestyle accommodations.

Its brand portfolio includes Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton, Tru by Hilton, Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton, Motto by Hilton and additional specialty brands.