Zacks Research Issues Negative Estimate for HLT Earnings

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, February 20th. Zacks Research analyst H. Ray now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $2.15 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.17. The consensus estimate for Hilton Worldwide’s current full-year earnings is $7.89 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Hilton Worldwide’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.85 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.90 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.02 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.59 EPS.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.09. Hilton Worldwide had a negative return on equity of 54.47% and a net margin of 13.74%.

HLT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $219.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Macquarie boosted their price objective on Hilton Worldwide from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $232.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $270.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Hilton Worldwide from $250.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.56.

Hilton Worldwide Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of HLT stock opened at $257.92 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.29. Hilton Worldwide has a twelve month low of $193.86 and a twelve month high of $275.22. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.87.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio is 9.76%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 23,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.66, for a total transaction of $5,880,287.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,746,152.78. This represents a 50.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christopher J. Nassetta sold 40,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.83, for a total value of $10,928,745.99. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 77,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,802,871.89. This trade represents a 34.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Hilton Worldwide

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Hilton Worldwide during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment increased its holdings in Hilton Worldwide by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 15,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares in the last quarter. 95.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.