Activists target these real estate firms

Article Excerpt

HILTON WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS $73 (New York symbol HLT; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 296.6 million; Market cap: $21.7 billion; Dividend yield: 0.8%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.hiltonworldwide.com) owns, manages and franchises hotels under several brands, including Hilton, Waldorf Astoria, Doubletree and Embassy Suites by Hilton. The U.S. accounts for 73% of the company’s nearly 895,000 rooms. In January 2017, the company completed two spinoffs: Park Hotels & Resorts Inc. (New York symbol PK), its lodging real estate investment trust (REIT); and Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. (New York symbol HGV), its vacation ownership company. Since the spinoff, Hilton Worldwide has gained roughly 30%. However, the stock has dropped 9% since the start of 2018 on concerns that a potential economic slowdown would cut demand for travel and lodgings. That decline has attracted the interest of activist investor Bill Ackman, whose Pershing Square fund now owns 10.9 million shares, or 3.7%, of Hilton Worldwide. Ackman has yet to press Hilton’s management to make changes. He feels the company’s fee-based franchising…