Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) Declares $0.15 Quarterly Dividend

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 24th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of 0.15 per share on Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th.

Hilton Worldwide has raised its dividend by an average of 58.7% per year over the last three years. Hilton Worldwide has a dividend payout ratio of 7.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Hilton Worldwide to earn $8.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.3%.

Hilton Worldwide Price Performance

Shares of Hilton Worldwide stock opened at $204.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $51.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.27, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.25. Hilton Worldwide has a 1 year low of $134.43 and a 1 year high of $215.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $205.55 and its 200 day moving average is $184.32.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $2.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 11.15% and a negative return on equity of 94.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Hilton Worldwide will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hilton Worldwide

In other news, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 21,489 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.68, for a total value of $4,204,967.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,536,478 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $496,338,015.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HLT shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $245.00 to $242.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $212.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Macquarie restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $192.00 price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research note on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.94.

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.