Analyzing Hilton Worldwide (HLT) and The Competition

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) is one of 26 public companies in the “HOTELS & MOTELS” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare Hilton Worldwide to similar businesses based on the strength of its earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.9% of Hilton Worldwide shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.6% of shares of all “HOTELS & MOTELS” companies are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Hilton Worldwide shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 25.4% of shares of all “HOTELS & MOTELS” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Hilton Worldwide and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hilton Worldwide	0	9	14	1	2.67
Hilton Worldwide Competitors	293	1439	1448	68	2.40

Hilton Worldwide presently has a consensus price target of $326.18, suggesting a potential upside of 11.54%. As a group, “HOTELS & MOTELS” companies have a potential upside of 16.42%. Given Hilton Worldwide’s rivals higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Hilton Worldwide has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hilton Worldwide and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hilton Worldwide	$12.04 billion	$1.46 billion	47.78
Hilton Worldwide Competitors	$4.24 billion	$405.47 million	-0.14

Hilton Worldwide has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Hilton Worldwide is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Hilton Worldwide and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hilton Worldwide	12.10%	-40.24%	11.81%
Hilton Worldwide Competitors	-28.72%	29.78%	2.09%

Risk and Volatility

Hilton Worldwide has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hilton Worldwide’s rivals have a beta of 0.89, suggesting that their average share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Hilton Worldwide pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Hilton Worldwide pays out 9.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “HOTELS & MOTELS” companies pay a dividend yield of 1.0% and pay out 32.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Hilton Worldwide beats its rivals on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

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. The company operates in North America, South America, and Central America, including various Caribbean nations; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa; and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.