Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) to Buyback $3.50 billion in Outstanding Stock

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

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.0 %

HLT traded down $2.57 during trading on Thursday, hitting $250.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,443,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,558,910. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $232.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.92. Hilton Worldwide has a twelve month low of $164.93 and a twelve month 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.07. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial upped their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $208.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $235.00 to $236.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hilton Worldwide has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

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