03:55 PM EDT, 04/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

We lift our 12-month target to $242 from $224, 20.7x our 2024 EV/EBITDA, below HLT's five-year average forward EV/EBITDA of 22.9x, reflecting weaker travel demand risks. We lift our 2024 EPS to $7.21 from $7.11 and 2025's to $8.29 from $8.23. HLT posted Q1 adj-EPS of $1.53, $0.11 above consensus. Revenue of $2,573M (+12.2% Y/Y) was $384M above consensus. Adj-EBITDA rose 17.0% Y/Y to $750M vs. $706M, with margin at 29.2%. System-wide RevPAR comp grew 2.0% on higher occupancy (+0.2 points to 67.2%) and average daily rate (+1.7% to $154.91). HLT's RevPAR underwhelmed due to holiday shifts, renovations, and inclement weather. Nonetheless, HLT's construction pipeline remains robust, with net unit growth +5.6% Y/Y and conversions accounting for 30% of openings. In our view, while China's secondary and tertiary markets are a concern, we're positive on HLT's RevPAR growth in China's top cities (+6%) and across large corporates (+3%), along with its recent partnerships and acquisitions (i.e., Graduate and AutoCamp).