Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) Initiates Stock Buyback Program

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hilton Worldwide in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 target price for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $185.00 to $181.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.71.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Performance

Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $248.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $218.47. The company has a market capitalization of $60.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.31, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide has a fifty-two week low of $164.93 and a fifty-two week high of $255.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 60.85% and a net margin of 10.70%. The business had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s payout ratio is 12.88%.

Insider Transactions at Hilton Worldwide

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. This represents a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. The trade was a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

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.