Should You Hold Hilton (HLT) for the Long Term?
Pershing Square Holdings, an investment holding company, released its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. During the year, the fund generated a NAV performance of 26.7% versus 26.3% for the principal benchmark the S&P 500 index. In 2023, the portfolio companies performed exceptionally well, significantly increasing their stock prices. Portfolio companies sustained growth in revenue, profitability, and shareholder value despite two conflicts and a prolonged increase in interest rates. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2023.
Pershing Square Holdings featured stocks like Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in the fourth quarter 2023 investor letter. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) is a hospitality company. On March 26, 2024, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) stock closed at $213.04 per share. One-month return of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) was 4.45%, and its shares gained 56.75% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) has a market capitalization of $53.72 billion.
Pershing Square Holdings stated the following regarding Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:
"Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) is a high-quality, asset-light, high-margin business with significant long-term growth potential. Hilton generated strong financial performance in 2023 as revenue per available room ("RevPAR"), the industry metric for same-store sales, increased 13% year over year reflecting both the continued late-cycle international recovery from COVID-related industrywide disruption and strong domestic trends. Earnings-per-share grew 27% year over year, and are now ~60% above pre-COVID-19 levels reflecting the compounded benefit of Hilton's net unit growth, excellent cost control, and share buybacks.
Near-term industry trends remain favorable, which will continue to benefit from continued robust RevPAR growth balanced across still improving occupancy trends and continued strength in average daily room rate ("ADR"). While aggregate occupancy remains modestly below pre-COVID levels, it is poised to improve in 2024 driven by acceleration in business transient travel, record group demand, and strong international growth. Similarly, ADR growth is likely to continue given strong demand against a backdrop of record low domestic supply growth of net new rooms. As a result, 2024 RevPAR growth is likely to remain above long-term trends. For context, STR Global, the industry's leading hospitality research firm, is projecting 2024 U.S. RevPAR growth of 4%, while international RevPAR growth is likely to be even stronger…” (Click here to read the full text)
Empty lobby of a high-end hotel showcasing the modern, luxurious interior of the hotel chain.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. At the end of the fourth quarter, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) was held by 57 hedge fund portfolios, compared to 53 in the previous quarter, according to our database.
We discussed Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) in another article and shared the list of largest travel companies in the world. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
