The equity earned a price-target hike from Evercore ISI to $150 last night
Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) is down 0.2% to trade at $143.22 at last check, despite last night receiving a price-target hike from Evercore ISI to $150 from $135. The security is still cooling from its Nov. 8, all-time high of $154.40, though the $142 level looks ready to contain today's slip. It also looks like the hotel concern could still add to its 35.3% year-over-year lead, as it is currently flashing a signal with historically bullish implications.
Digging deeper, Hilton Hotels stock just came within one standard deviation of its 40-day moving average, after some time spent well above this trendline. According to data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, five similar signals were seen over the past three years. HLT enjoyed a positive return 100% of the time, one month later, averaging a 4.8% gain. From its current perch, a comparable move would put the security back above $150 -- just shy of its record highs.
There is still plenty of room for upgrades among the brokerage bunch. Of the 13 analysts in coverage, seven call Hilton Hotels stock a tepid "hold," while the remaining six rate it a "buy" or better. Plus, the security's 12-month consensus target price of $147.47 is but a slim premium to current levels, indicating additional price-target hikes could be on the horizon.
The options pits are already firmly in the bullish camp. This is per HLT's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 5.13 over at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than 96% of readings in its annual range. This means long calls have been getting picked up at a much faster-than-usual clip in the last two months.