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McLean, Virginia-based Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT) is a hospitality company that owns, leases, manages, develops, and franchises hotels and resorts. With a market cap of $53.1 billion, Hilton operates through Management and Franchise and Ownership segments.
The hotel giant has substantially outperformed the broader market over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks, HLT is up 42.3% outpacing the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 28.3% returns. In 2024, HLT gained 17.8% compared to SPX’s 17.6% gains on a YTD basis.
Narrowing the focus, HLT outperformed the Defiance Hotel Airline And Cruise ETF’s (CRUZ) 2.3% returns over the past 52 weeks and 4.4% decline on a YTD basis.
Despite reporting a 10.9% annual growth in Q2 revenues and exceeding Wall Street’s topline estimates marginally, shares of Hilton dipped 1.7% following its Q2 earnings release on Aug. 7. The company’s adjusted EPS rose 17.2% to $1.91, which also surpassed the consensus estimates by 3.2%.
The company gave a fiscal 2024 adjusted EPS guidance, projecting it to range between $6.93 and $7.03, which fell short of analysts’ expectations and made investors jittery.
For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect Hilton to report an EPS growth of 13.5% annually to $7.05. The company has a history of surpassing or matching the consensus EPS estimates in its quarterly earnings reports.
Among the 21 analysts covering the HLT stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on seven “Strong Buy” ratings, two “Moderate Buys,” and 12 “Holds.”
This configuration is slightly more bullish than a month ago, with six analysts recommending a “Strong Buy.”
On Aug. 8, Barclays analyst Brandt Montour maintained a “Buy” rating with a price target of $224.
The stock’s average analyst price target of $219.84 implies the stock could rally as much as 2.5% from current price levels. The Street-high target of $254 represents a potential upside of 18.4%.
On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
