4 Best Stocks to Buy in 2023 According to Bill Ackman

In this article, we discuss the 4 best stocks to buy in 2023 according to Bill Ackman. To read the detailed history of Bill Ackman and his hedge fund’s performance, go directly to the 8 Best Stocks to Buy in 2023 According to Bill Ackman.

4. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Pershing Square’s Q1 2023 Stake: $1.3 billion

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) is a multinational hospitality company headquartered in Virginia, USA. The company holds one of the world’s largest portfolios of hotels and resorts and operates globally.

In the first quarter of 2023, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) covered 12.82% of Pershing Square Capital Management with close to 9.3 million shares worth $1.3 billion.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) has been covered by 7 Wall Street analysts in the last three months and 4 of them maintain a Buy or Outperform rating on the company shares. The company’s average analyst price target stands at around $157.86. On March 29, Morgan Stanley picked Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) as one of the top 30 long-term stocks through 2025.

Here is what Pershing Square said about Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)  in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

“Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) is a high-quality, asset-light, high-margin business with significant long-term growth potential, led by a superb management team. The unforeseen arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed a rapid and near-complete standstill in global travel, with RevPAR (the industry metric for same-store sales at a given hotel) down roughly 90% at the nadir of the pandemic. We increased our investment in Hilton during the pandemic as we believed the economic dislocation from COVID-19 would prove to be transient and that industry projections regarding the timeline for recovery were too pessimistic.

From the moment the pandemic began, Hilton’s management team took decisive actions to ensure the company not only managed through what it knew would be a challenging period, but also positioned the company to generate improved margins, cash flows, and investment returns once the business recovered. In hindsight, Hilton’s experience with COVID-19 – the 100-year proverbial flood – affirmed the company’s unique high-quality, asset light, high-margin business model, and reinforced our belief that Hilton deserves a premium valuation.

While Hilton entered 2022 impacted by the Omicron variant, results have vastly improved throughout the year as COVID-19 has evolved towards a more endemic virus, and consumer behavior has adapted accordingly. In recent months, Hilton’s system-wide RevPAR has surpassed 2019 levels and continues to improve. Recent strength has been led by domestic leisure travel occasions as consumer spending continues to shift from goods to services. …” (Click here to read the full text)