Hilton stock rises toward 9-month high after profit more than doubles to beat expectations

Shares of Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.
HLT,
-0.61%
hiked up 2.4% toward a nine-month high in premarket trading Thursday, after the hotel operator reported fourth-quarter profit that more than doubled and beat expectations, as revenue per available room (RevPAR) exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the second straight quarter. Net income rose to $332 million, or $1.21 a share, from $147 million, or 52 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share increased to $1.59 from 72 cents, to beat the FactSet consensus of $1.22. Revenue grew 33.1% to $2.44 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $2.35 billion. RevPAR increased 24.8% from last year, as occupancy improved 10.3 percentage points to 67.5% and the average daily rate (ADR) improved 20.6%. For the first quarter, the company expects adjusted EPS of between $1.08 and $1.14, compared with the FactSet consensus of $1.14. The stock has rallied 13.4% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has advanced 9.9%.