Hilton Grand Vacations (NYSE:HGV) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Hilton Grand Vacations (NYSE:HGV) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of Hilton Grand Vacations from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hilton Grand Vacations from $51.00 to $38.00 and set a “cautious” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Mizuho cut their price target on Hilton Grand Vacations from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Hilton Grand Vacations from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citizens Jmp lowered Hilton Grand Vacations from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.10.

Hilton Grand Vacations Price Performance

Hilton Grand Vacations stock opened at $43.89 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 5.15, a quick ratio of 3.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.53. Hilton Grand Vacations has a 12-month low of $33.99 and a 12-month high of $55.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.60.

Hilton Grand Vacations (NYSE:HGV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $4.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $2.95. Hilton Grand Vacations had a return on equity of 39.73% and a net margin of 7.02%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Hilton Grand Vacations’s quarterly revenue was up 50.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Grand Vacations will post 6.38 EPS for the current year.

Hilton Grand Vacations announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, August 20th that authorizes the company to buy back $600 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 17% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Hilton Grand Vacations

In related news, insider Mark Wang purchased 12,200 shares of Hilton Grand Vacations stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $40.92 per share, for a total transaction of $499,224.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 916,715 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,511,977.80. This trade represents a 1.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hilton Grand Vacations

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of Hilton Grand Vacations by 58.2% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 5,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Hilton Grand Vacations by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 24,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Hilton Grand Vacations by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Hilton Grand Vacations by 71.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 10,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 4,278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iridian Asset Management LLC CT grew its holdings in Hilton Grand Vacations by 54.5% in the 3rd quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 711,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,666,000 after buying an additional 251,068 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.23% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Grand Vacations Company Profile

Hilton Grand Vacations Inc (NYSE:HGV) is a global vacation ownership company that markets and sells vacation intervals, points-based memberships and related travel experiences. Its portfolio includes branded vacation ownership resorts and accommodations in popular leisure destinations, with products designed to provide members with recurring access to vacation properties.

The company also provides resort management, reservation and customer services, financing for vacation ownership purchases, and exchange and travel-planning services.