Hilton Hotels and Marriott International have been drawing analyst attention
Hotel giants Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) and Hilton Hotels Corporation (NYSE:HLT) have been the subject of several analyst notes over the past couple days. Citigroup downgraded both stocks to "neutral" from "buy" yesterday, citing "potential for weaker RevPAR growth versus expectations," and also predicting slowing growth for the segment.
Today, Barclays chimed in on both as well. The firm cut its rating on Marriott stock to "equal weight" from "overweight," citing a weakening macro environment, but raised its price target to $170 from $163 on strong travel demand. Barclays kept its "equal weight" rating on Hilton Hotels stock, however, but also hiked its price target to $139 from $133.
Amid the analyst notes, it's also worth noting that Marriott opened its first resort in Dubai on Palm Island. MAR is down 2.1% at $155.92 at last glance, though the equity's 60-day moving average appears to be keeping losses in check. Year-to-date, the equity is down 6%.
Hilton Hotels stock is also down 2.1%, trading at $133.14 at last check. This negative price action has HLT firmly below the $133 level, which has acted as support since its early-November bull gap. Year-to-date, the security is down 14.9%.