Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Boosts Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. by 33.7%, owning a total of 18,043 shares valued at approximately $4.1 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several other institutional investors significantly raised their holdings in Hilton Worldwide, with Valley National Advisers Inc. increasing its stake by a remarkable 244.8%.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on Hilton Worldwide, with Goldman Sachs maintaining a "neutral" rating while Bank of America upgraded its price target to $285.00 and assigned a "buy" rating.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT - Free Report) by 33.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,043 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,550 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Hilton Worldwide were worth $4,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 2.4% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 21,098 shares of the company's stock worth $4,801,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 14.2% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 320,479 shares of the company's stock worth $72,925,000 after acquiring an additional 39,782 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 369.3% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 8,438 shares of the company's stock worth $1,920,000 after acquiring an additional 6,640 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 12.4% in the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 4,819 shares of the company's stock worth $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in Hilton Worldwide by 32.5% in the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 25,175 shares of the company's stock worth $5,729,000 after acquiring an additional 6,169 shares during the period. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Down 1.7%

HLT stock traded down $4.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $257.89. The stock had a trading volume of 98,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,051,259. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $261.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.89. The company has a market cap of $60.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.26. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.04 and a 52-week high of $279.46.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.16. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 46.13% and a net margin of 13.84%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7.89 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Worldwide Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Hilton Worldwide's payout ratio is currently 9.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $251.00 to $241.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Hilton Worldwide from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $296.00 in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $275.00 to $245.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $223.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $259.19.

Hilton Worldwide 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.