hilton spring 2007

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Hilton Equity Valuation and Analysis Team Summit Analysts John Johnson II: [email protected] Deontei Harris: [email protected] Chance Baucum: [email protected] Matt Loyd: [email protected]

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Page 1: Hilton Spring 2007

Hilton Equity Valuation and Analysis

Team Summit Analysts

John Johnson II: [email protected] Deontei Harris: [email protected]

Chance Baucum: [email protected] Matt Loyd: [email protected]

Page 2: Hilton Spring 2007

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary……………..2

Overview of Firm…………6

Preliminary Data for Hilton

Sales Volume and Growth Tables…….7

Industry Comparison Table………8

Stock Price Activity Table….9

Industry Overview and Analysis…….10

Value Chain Analysis………….…….16

Firm Competitive Advantage Analysis………18

Accounting Analysis…………21

Ratio Analysis………………38

Forecast Financials………..61

Cost of Capital Estimation……….72

Method of Comparables……76

Intrinsic Valuation Analysis and Z-Score………….80

Analyst Recommendation…………85

References………………………86

Appendices

Appendix 1 (Financials, Ratios, and Valuation Models)…..A-J

Appendix 2 (Regression Data)……………………….K-Y

Page 3: Hilton Spring 2007

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Executive Summary

Investment Recommendation: Overvalued, Sell 4/21/07

HLT-NYSE $36.13 EPS Forecast 52 week range $23.19-$38.00 (Yr end)2006 2007(E) 2008(E) 2009(E) Revenue (2006) $8.162Billion EPS 1.48 1.56 1.68 1.82 Market Capitalization $13.74Billion Shares Outstanding 387,000,000 Ratio Comparison HLT HOT MAR Dividend Yield .16 (.50%) Trailing P/E 25.37 14.76 26.93 3-m Avg dividend trading volume 3,412,020 Forward P/E 22.64 23.08 20.18Book Value Per Share $9.63 M/B 3.65 4.92 8.03ROE 3.5% ROA 15.3% Valuation Estimates Est. 5-yr EPS growth rate 35% Actual Price (as of 4/21/07) $36.13 Ratio Based Valuations Cost of Cap Est. R2 Beta Ke P/E Trailing $21.31 Ke est. 10.93% P/E Forward $21.63 5-yr 22.33% 1.101 9.43% Enterprise Value $14.58 1-yr 22.41% 1.104 8.63% 10-yr 22.36% 1.102 11.65% 3month 22.45% .105 10.93% Published 1.53 Intrinsic Valuations Kd HLT: 6.89% Discounted Dividends $3.04 WACC HLT: 7.93% Free Cash Flows $7.33 Altman's Z-score Residual Income $23.70 HLT: 1.45 Abnormal Earnings Growth $49.33

Page 4: Hilton Spring 2007

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Recommendation – Overvalued Firm Company, Industry Overview and Analysis

Hilton is one of the Top 3 in the Lodging industry with revenues totaling

approximately $2.2 billion in 2006 and a market capitalization of $13.74 billion. It

was founded in Cisco, TX in 1919 by Conrad Hilton and in April 2007 expanded

its operations to over 500 hotels around the World. In addition to hotels, Hilton

also owns numerous resorts, timeshares, and partnerships with various

businesses around the World. These businesses range from airlines to Car

Rental corporations.

The Lodging industry is made up of numerous firms; however, it is

dominated by three main competitors, Marriott, Hilton, and Starwood. Together,

these three firms constitute “The Big 3” of the Lodging industry and compete

primarily with one another. Due to the fact that little other firms pose major

competition, those at the top of this industry tend to focus on a differentiation

competitive advantage strategy. This strategy involves competing on quality

rather than price through means such as loyalty programs, valet service, 5-star

on site restaurants, shows, concierge service, etc.

Hilton uses a differentiation strategy due to the clientele they cater to

(Middle/Upper class) and the main competition they face (Marriott and

Starwood).

Accounting Analysis

Through research into Hilton’s financial statements, Balance Sheet,

Income Statement, and Statement of Cash Flows, we were able to begin to

dissect where Hilton is trying to position themselves as far as there appearance

to investors is concerned. We evaluated what are their Key Accounting policies,

Page 5: Hilton Spring 2007

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where they could be flexible, and the type of strategies they employed when

disclosing things such as Depreciation.

Through this we did not find anything too unusual in how they disclose

their financial information. In general, anything that may have been a concern

was disclosed and/or talked about in their footnotes. For example, there was a

slight discrepancy of $26 Million between the Retained Earnings presented in

their Statement of Cash Flows and the R.E. that we calculated; however, Hilton

discloses in their footnotes that this is due to the exercise of Stock options which

indeed was equal to $26 million.

Hilton utilizes straight line depreciation and FIFO to account for their

inventory which minimizes their tax burden. This causes no reason for us to be

alarmed because this seems to be more of a preference among the managers

rather than an attempt to hide or bury value.

Financial Ratio Analysis

Financial ratios are used to evaluate a firm in several different aspects; its

Liquidity status, its Profitability status and, its Capital Structure status (i.e. the

way in which a firm may finance its assets). Each one of these areas contains

several ratios ranging from its Current ratio (Current Assets/Current Liabilities),

dollar amount of current assets per dollar of current liabilities to its Debt to

Equity ratio (Liabilities/Shareholder’s Equity), this amount of liabilities is financed

by every dollar of Shareholder’s Equity. These ratios prove extremely useful

when it comes to the ten-year forecasting of the company (See Ratio Analysis

section) allowing the investor to see, at a glimpse, the predicted financial

situation of the company over the next ten years. However, due to the

assumptions that are made in forecasting out financial information, the Ratios

can be skewed in one direction or the other. For the purpose of our forecasting

though, we tried to remain more conservative in our assumptions of growth so

as to not grossly overstate future earnings.

Page 6: Hilton Spring 2007

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Intrinsic Valuations

An intrinsic valuation involves first coming up with a reliable Ke (Cost of

Equity), Kd (Cost of Debt), growth rates, and a WACC (Weighted Average Cost of

Capital). These numbers find their role in being used as a discount measure for

many of the valuation models. The valuation models are the Discounted Cash

Flows Model, Discounted Dividends Model, Residual Income Model, AEG Model,

and the Method of Comparables. These models allows for us to be able to come

up with our own value for a firm and in comparing our value (Intrinsic Value) to

that of the market, we can then see whether a firm is over, under, or moderately

valued within the market.

Also included in this is an Altman Z-score which helps to constitute the

credit worthiness of a firm. A firm with low credit worthiness will have a score

that is below 1.8 and a company with good credit will have a score around 2.67.

Page 7: Hilton Spring 2007

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Overview of Firm Hilton is the proud figurehead brand of Hilton Hotels Corporation and

the most recognized name in the global lodging industry. Although Conrad Hilton

purchased his first hotel in Cisco, Texas back in 1919, they have since grown to

over 500 hotels in cities all over the world. Hilton was officially organized in the

State of Delaware on May 29, 1946. With the chief executive offices located at

9336 Civic Center Drive, Beverly Hills, California.

“Hilton Hotels Corporation is engaged with but not limited to ownership,

management and development of hotels, resorts and timeshare-properties, and

the franchising of lodging properties as well.” (Hilton 2006 10-K) They range

into various business segments of the lodging industry with capacities

“ containing 2,388 properties with approximately 375,000 rooms, of such

properties, leased six hotels, managed 210 hotels owned by others and

franchised 2,054 hotels owned and operated by third parties.” (Hilton 2006 10-K)

From corporate-preferred accounts, internet based guests, leisure tourists,

group- S.M.E.R.F accounts, they aim to gratify the needs of all consumer types,

holding such extensive “hotel brands included within Hilton Hotel Corp. are

Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Homewood Suites by

Hilton, Hampton and Conrad. They develop and operate timeshare resorts

through Hilton Grand Vacations Company. While also being engaged in various

other activities related or incidental to the operation of hotels.” (Hilton 2006 10-

K) On February 23, 2006 Hilton acquired the lodging assets of Hilton Group plc.

As a result of the HI (Hilton International) Acquisition, they are the largest, by

revenue, and most geographically diverse lodging company in the world, with

nearly 2,800 hotels and approximately 475,000 rooms in 80 countries. The HI

properties that have been acquired consist of 387 hotels with over 100,000

rooms, of which 41 hotels are owned, 194 are leased, eight are partially owned

through joint ventures, 115 are managed and 29 are franchised. Such success

has brought Hilton to the number two spot in the lodging industry.

Page 8: Hilton Spring 2007

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Preliminary Data to familiarize self with Hilton (Preliminary Data 1)

Sales volume and growth tables (Firm and competitors) Hilton HLT 12/31/2002 12/31/2003 12/31/2004 12/31/2005 12/31/2006

Total Assets 8,348B 8,178B 8,242B 8,743B 16,993B

Sales $Mil 3,816 3,819 4,146 4,437 7,013 Sales Growth 5.10% -1.60% 6.00% 46.90% 179.00% Stock Price $12.71 $17.13 $22.74 $24.11 $36.93

Market Cap 14,278B

Marriott MAR 12/29/2002 12/29/2003 12/29/2004 12/29/2005 12/29/2006Total Assets 9,107 8,296B 8,668B 8,530B n/a Sales $Mil 8,415 9,014 10,099 11,550 11,720

Sales Growth -16.90% 6.80% 12.00% 14.40% -0.40% Stock Price $16.44 $23.10 $31.49 $33.49 $48.79

Market Cap 19,291B

Starwood HOT 12/31/2002 12/31/2003 12/31/2004 12/31/2005 12/31/2006Total Assets 12,259B 11,894B 12,298B 12,454B n/a Sales $Mil 4,588 4,360 5,368 5,977 5,923

Sales Growth -2.20% -2.60% 42.10% 11.40% 5.10% Stock Price $19.36 $29.04 $47.64 $52.09 $66.18

Market Cap 14,030B

Wyndam WYN 12/31/2002 12/31/2003 12/31/2004 12/31/2005 12/31/2006Total Assets 4,473M 3,783M 2,790M 9,167M 9,118M Sales $Mil 2,241 2,652 3,014 3,471 3,733

Sales Growth -9.00% -5.00% 17.00% 152% 11.90% Stock Price n/a n/a $33.45 n/a $32.55

Market Cap 6,449M

Four Seasons FS 12/31/2002 12/31/2003 12/31/2004 12/31/2005 12/31/2006

Total Assets 614.3M 733.8M 904.9M 880.2M n/a Sales $Mil 181 221 261 248 n/a

Sales Growth -7.80% 4.70% 38.20% -5.10% n/a Stock Price $28.25 $51.15 $81.79 $49.75 $83.11

Market Cap 3,045M

Gaylord GET 12/31/2002 12/31/2003 12/31/2004 12/31/2005 12/31/2006Total Assets 2,192.2M 2,577.3M 2521.1M 2532.6M 2658.8M Sales $Mil 414 448.8 750 869 930

Sales Growth 27.40% 8.30% 67.00% 15.90% 11.20% Stock Price $20.06 $29.85 $41.53 $43.59 $56.84

Market Cap 2,316M

Page 9: Hilton Spring 2007

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(Preliminary Data 2) Industry Comparison Table

HILTON DIRECT COMPETITOR COMPARISON HLT HOT FS MAR Industry

Market Cap: 14.28B 14.03B 3,045M 19.29B 2.01B Employees: 61,000 110,000 20,887 143,000 6.00K Qtrly Rev Growth (yoy): 100.30% 100.0% -4.9% -0.40% 7.00% Revenue (ttm): 7.01B 522.94M 283.3M 11.94B 457.39MGross Margin (ttm): 32.55% 100.0% 73.8% 13.12% 49.22% EBITDA (ttm): 1.46B 177.90M -39.8M 1.17B 76.71M Oper Margins (ttm): 15.24% 31.17% 17.1% 7.79% 15.67% Net Income (ttm): 470.00M 422.00M -28.2M 734.00M 31.54M EPS (ttm): 1.152 1.884 -0.77 1.445 0.91 P/E (ttm): 32.06 13.9 6.33 33.76 30.72 PEG (5 yr expected): 1.93 3.89 2.8 1.99 1.99 P/S (ttm): 2.04 2.40 5.07 1.62 1.95 HOT = Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide FS = Four Seasons Hotels MAR = Marriott International Inc. Industry = Lodging

-Courtesy of: http://finance.yahoo.com

Page 10: Hilton Spring 2007

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(Preliminary Data 3) Stock Price Activity Table

Five Year Analysis

HLT HOT FS MAR GET WYN -Courtesy of: http:// www.morningstar.com

Page 11: Hilton Spring 2007

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Industry Overview and Analysis

5 Forces model

An industries’ and more specifically, a companies’, key to survival is influenced by

five factors, 1) Competition, 2) Threat of Potential Entrants and Competitors, 3)

Threat of Substitute Products, 4) Bargaining Power of Buyers, and 5) Bargaining

Power of Suppliers. These five factors are grouped into what is commonly called

the Five Forces Model and is used to specifically target where an industries risk

as well as profit strategies lie. Within these five factors are sub-factors that

further delve into their headings. For example, 1) Competition is evaluated on

sub-areas of Industry Growth, Fixed Costs to Variable Costs, Entry and Exit

barriers, etc. This in turn can be translated, on a micro scale, to a specific

corporation within that industry. What follows is the Five Forces Model laid out

for the Lodging Industry as defined by the NYSE.

1) Competition

Industry Growth

Growth within the industry is steady for the most part; this seems to have

a heavy reliance on the Baby Boomer generation. As more and more of this

generation begin to retire and receive Social Security and retirement benefits, it

places more consumers in society that are willing and able to take more trips and

thus need some form of lodging. If you look at the graph on the next page, the

Lodging industry has indeed recognized a steady increase in growth over the

past 9 years.

Page 12: Hilton Spring 2007

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(Top 3 Competitors in Lodging Industry)

-Graph provided courtesy of Yahoo Finance

In addition, with business travel growing world wide, corporations in this industry

gain the opportunity to grow both domestically and internationally. It is notable

here that the attacks of 9-11 greatly affected the Airline industry leading to an

indirect shock to the Lodging industry, however, the market has once again

returned to a state of constant growth, as evidenced in the above graph.

Concentration and Balance of Competitors

Competition in this industry is fairly concentrated at the top, with the Top

3 competitors, Marriott, Hilton, and Starwood, respectively bringing in the most

revenue and thus controlling a fair amount of the industry. They maintain their

rankings by differentiating themselves on quality rather than on price; an issue

that is vital in an industry with numerous competitors. However, a firm in this

industry cannot make any revenue on unused rooms, so often they do

compromise on price to a degree, and this is accomplished through the use of

outside agents such as priceline.com and expedia.com. This differentiation on

quality will be discussed in detail on the next page.

Page 13: Hilton Spring 2007

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Degree of Differentiation and Switching costs

As stated above differentiation is vital to a corporation’s success, in not

just the Lodging industry but any industry that is saturated with numerous

competitors. This differentiation can happen in two ways, either on price or on

quality. However, in this industry, as stated above, the corporations that find the

most success differentiate themselves on quality, with the top 2, Marriott and

Hilton, differentiating, to a high degree, on quality. Due to this, the switching

cost for a corporation is extremely high while the switching cost for a consumer

is low. Switching cost is high whether a company is trying to switch to providing

a more quality product or provide on cost efficiency; in the latter way, the high

cost would be based on potential client loss.

Ratio of Fixed costs to Variable Costs

The Lodging industry has a high fixed cost to variable cost ratio. Most of

the corporation’s investments are in their buildings, furnishings, and land. These

are all things that a corporation in this industry must own to run a Hotel. If you

look at the balance sheet of the Top 3 firms in the Lodging industry, you’ll see

that most of the firm’s assets are in their buildings and land. The Lodging

industries variable costs are relatively low but are still high enough to be of

concern. Variable costs in this industry include soap, sheets, even staffing to an

extent. There is also the crossover of certain costs such as electricity, which

would be higher with guests but would still be high regardless of occupancy of

rooms. This brings up the question of whether electricity is, to a degree, a sunk

cost.

Exit Barriers and Excess Capability

The exit barriers in this industry are quite large because of the high start-

up cost associated with starting up a hotel chain. Due to this, it allows firms

such as the Top 3 to maintain quite a hold on the top of the Lodging industry.

The sheer value of the land alone, which is dependent on location, can make

Page 14: Hilton Spring 2007

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exiting the industry very costly. However, it could be more costly for a firm in

this highly competitive industry to continue operating despite losing money. In

this scenario, it would cause an exit from the industry to be high but not high

enough to bar exit.

2) Threat of Potential Entrants and Competitors

Economies of scale

This implies that as a firm, in an industry, expands its operations, it

actually begins to decrease it’s per unit cost. In the lodging industry, Economies

of scale is realized especially among the Top 3. This is based on rising rates for

hotel rooms (can be seen as an expansion of operations, i.e. profit growth),

despite relative level costs of maintaining a particular room. However, with

events like September 11th, per unit costs began to significantly increase due to

fixed to variable cost ratio rising; this has begun to level out in the past three

years however with revenues increasing steadily in the past three years, on

average, for the industry.

First Mover Advantage

Location is a very important aspect of the Lodging industry; therefore,

there is a high first mover advantage. To the firm that gets the best locations

goes the highest revenues. For example, the Top 3 in the Lodging industry have

some of the most key locations for the clientele that they serve; for example, Las

Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, all serve home to the Top 3 in the industry. In

addition to location, first mover advantage can include coming up with a

revolutionary idea such as Hilton’s HHonors loyalty program. The ability to come

up with fresh ideas enables a firm in this industry to tap into “un-chartered”

industry niche arenas.

Page 15: Hilton Spring 2007

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Customer Relationships

All firms in the Lodging industry, especially those who differentiate on

quality, must establish a customer or clientele base. Those in an industry who

quality differentiates are all going after the same clientele base. Therefore, there

is a first mover advantage in establishing repertoire with potential customers.

Firms do this through several different means, one of which is a loyalty reward

program.

Legal Barriers

Legal barriers in this industry are very few, except in markets such as Las

Vegas where gaming laws and commissions can significantly lag entry into the

industry. However, outside of this, legal barriers find themselves situated in

Building and Zoning codes but nothing that would provide significant entry into

this industry.

3) Threat of Substitute products

Due to the high level of competition in this industry, the threat of

substitute products is high within the same differentiated niches (i.e.

differentiation of quality and cost). Within the quality niche, the Top 3 all serve

as a substitute product, while in the cost niche, there are numerous and various

different types of substitute products to choose from. In addition, there is also

the possibility of camping and RV’s serving as substitute products, though this is

not a major threat to the quality niche of the Lodging industry. However,

relating back to the Customer Relationship section on the previous page, the

threat of substitute products is inversely related to Customer relationship; the

higher the repertoire with clientele, the less likely for them to find a substitute

for a firm’s product.

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4) Bargaining power of Buyers

The bargaining power of buyers in the Lodging industry is low in the

overall scheme of the industry, but high among the Top 3 in the industry. Due

to the most successful firms in the industry falling into the quality niche of the

industry (Top 3), it allows buyers to have a lot of bargaining power to switch

between the Top 3. The inability for a firm to compromise (on factors other than

price) can translate into loss of potential profits among those in the Top 3.

However, in the industry as a whole, the buyer possesses less power as the

switching cost is high for a consumer to switch to a different firm, because they

then sacrifice quality.

5) Bargaining power of Suppliers

Firms in the Lodging industry are customers that any supplier would want

to have, with tremendous amounts of properties, firms are able to maintain a

certain amount of power over their suppliers. When a company makes a

contract with a firm in this industry, they will be able to sell a tremendous

amount of product, due in no small part, to the amount of products that hotels

need to be able to run their day to day operations. This causes firms to have

more power as a buyer and the inverse among the supplier. The Top 3 firms in

the Lodging industry maintain high standards, which must be met, in order for a

supplier to be able to do business with them. According to the Hilton supply

management website, the Number Two firm in the industry, “Suppliers are

evaluated based on criteria including financial stability, delivery performance,

product performance, industry wide reputation, responsiveness in solving

problems, and other salient points. New suppliers are typically given

consideration only when there is a need for a new bid or contract on a particular

product or service.” This means that suppliers are not easily granted a contract,

allowing the Top 3 to have a leverage of power over their suppliers.

Page 17: Hilton Spring 2007

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Value Chain Analysis

The Lodging industry is an industry that has enjoyed relative success over

the past few years. Despite the tragedies of September 11th, the Lodging

industry has counted on the virtual certainty that people are going to need some

place to “lay their heads”.

However, most firms in this industry have chosen to differentiate

themselves. This can be seen in the vision statement of the industry’s Number

Two brand Hilton; Hilton creates value by “building on the rich heritage and

strength of our brands…” In the very competitive industry of Lodging, there are

several ways for a firm to differentiate itself. A firm must know its base, an

upper class base will require a firm to differentiate itself on quality and service,

and a firm with a middle lower class base will differentiate itself on cost,

effectively pursuing a cost leadership competitive advantage.

First, a firm has to identify what product or service that a customer values

over other services or its key success factors.

Key Success Factors

In this industry, a successful firm will focus on comfort and superior

customer service. Secondly, the firm must position itself in such a way as to

achieve this product or service in a superior and unique way; in this industry, it

will focus on things such as concierge service, complimentary transportation

to/from airport, 5-star on site restaurants, etc. Most importantly, location is key

to catering to the right clientele (i.e. Las Vegas, New York Times Square). Lastly,

a firm that wishes to differentiate itself must do so at a cost that is less than

what the clientele would be willing to pay for it. Differentiation, especially in this

industry, requires a large investment in Research and Development (hereafter

referred to as R&D), this is due to the fact that a firm must find answers to how

they can effectively do the items that have been listed above.

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On the other side, there is competitive advantage created through cost

leadership. This allows for a firm, especially one in a very competitive

environment, to compete on price. As stated above, this kind of strategy works

well for firms catering to lower/middle class clientele. However, it is important to

note that firms who compete on price, have to sacrifice some quality in order to

maintain lower prices.

Through careful analysis of vision and mission statements of the most

successful firms in this industry, especially the Top 3 and through the analysis of

success through financial statements, it is our opinion that the Hotel industry is

an industry that pursues an overall differentiation competitive advantage.

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Firm Competitive Advantage Analysis

In researching Hilton, we will evaluate the ways and effectiveness that

Hilton has had in implementing the key success factors listed above; in addition,

we will compare Hilton’s competitive advantage to the differentiation strategies

utilized by its competitors to further evaluate how effective Hilton has been to

adapting to a changing climate, post September 11th.

Hilton Corp has maintained their competitive advantages by implementing

key success factors, fine tuned for their industry and more importantly for their

competitive advantage strategy, having been identified previously as

differentiation. By having one of the most powerful brand names in the industry,

Hilton brings a strong competitive presence to the hotel market. They believe

“there is a desire among global hotel owners for strong brands in the full-service,

focused-service, and all-suite segments; and their brand portfolio is wonderfully

positioned to fill that need.” (Hilton.com)

Hilton has made a name for itself with their superior customer service.

Falling in line with the key success factors listed above, Hilton has spent the last

few years positioning itself to become the most dominant brand in the Lodging

industry. Location has allowed Hilton to expand its operations into new avenues

such as casinos and gaming in Las Vegas; in addition, with the addition of

several overseas operations and restructurings, Hilton is truly trying to become a

dominant force in this industry through its branching into new markets.

Technology has also increased customer satisfaction by implementing

new types of entertainment for guests; for example, most high end hotels of

Hilton are putting in flat panel LCD big screen TVs with high-definition. This

quality feature stands out from most competitors and focuses on bringing an “at-

home” feeling of comfort and luxury for the guests.

Page 20: Hilton Spring 2007

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Hilton Corp has developed ways of providing its superior product and

service, all-suite segments, and full and focused-service, at a competitive cost.

The guest loyalty program known as, “Hilton Honors” or HHilton focuses on

benefits for the frequent traveler. This program works well with major businesses

that spend a lot of time traveling because they can now get discounts that allows

decreases in their travel expenses. Another cost efficient strategy Hilton

possesses is its ability to offer price matching with the other competitors’ hotels.

This program called, “Their Best Rates Guaranteed” ensures travelers that they

are getting the best deal at the fair market price.

“It is also worth noting that the supply environment continues to work in

Hilton’s favor. There is little new competitive full-service hotel supply being

introduced in the hotel industry’s major markets. This advantage in the market is

definitely a benefit, with the only worries of losing customers to current

competitors known in the market.”

-Hilton.com-2005 Annual Report

Indeed, Hilton pursues a differentiation strategy; however, it is unique in

that Hilton attempts a mix of strategies, providing quality service at the lowest

cost possible. Despite its offering of premium locations and amenities, Hilton is

willing to couple this with programs such as HHilton and “Their Best Rates

Guaranteed”. This unique strategy allows Hilton to create value for its

shareholders and brand name.

Risk Analysis

Since Hilton hotels business relies heavily on properties that are subject to

a lot of environmental risks; any coastal hotel may be subject to hurricanes and

possibly tsunamis. This would cause massive damages or completely destroy the

property causing huge financial set backs. Another risk they must assume now

is that of terrorist attacks. After reviewing some financial information after

September 11th, Hilton noticed a drop off in stock prices (see below chart, Sept.

Page 21: Hilton Spring 2007

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20, 2001). This can be attributed to the amount of people that ceased travel

due to the attacks.

(Hilton stock price chart to illustrate 9/11 effect)

-Graph provided courtesy of Yahoo Finance

Page 22: Hilton Spring 2007

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Accounting Analysis

Key Accounting policies

A goal of accounting analysis, as it relates to the valuation of a company,

is to first determine the competitive strategy success factors and risks of the

firm. Once these factors and risks have been identified, then this information is

looked at to see how well the firm has managed and utilized them. These key

success factors contribute to the financial future success or failure of the firm as

compared to the industry.

Above, we described Hilton as employing a differentiation strategy, in

which they do not compete on price but rather on quality and service. Due to

this high emphasis on quality, Hilton places much importance on the acquisition

and management of “quality” properties. As of the company’s latest 10-Q report,

Hilton operates over 2,500 properties around the World under several sub-

headings, Hilton, Embassy Hotels, Hampton, Inn, etc. Due to their World-wide

endeavors, Hilton has an interest in the volatility of foreign currencies as it

relates to their properties.

Hilton utilizes operating leases for its properties, see table below:

-Courtesy of Hilton 10-Q Report: 8-Nov-2006 (in millions)

Operating leases allows a firm (as the lessee) to keep the lease off of their

balance sheet and expense the entire lease payment for tax purposes. This

translates to a higher expense on the balance sheet and thus a lower net

income. According to the above table, Hilton has over $12.1 billion in debt with

Page 23: Hilton Spring 2007

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approximately 40% of it due after five years. It should be noted however that a

large portion of this debt stems from the acquisition of Hilton International in

2005.

Hilton uses straight line depreciation to depreciate its assets over their

useful life, for buildings, 40 years, and between three to eight years for furniture

and equipment. This depreciation expense “2003, 2004, and 2005 was $270

million, $271 million, and $247 million, respectively.” (Hilton 10-K footnotes 31-

Dec-2005) Hilton’s use of straight line depreciation allows for an even

distribution expenses across the assets useful life.

As mentioned before, Hilton is self-insured for general liability, workers’

compensation, and employee medical and dental insurance coverage. Hilton has

self retention reserves that are for single claims costing between, $250,000 to

$500,000. “The undiscounted amount of Hilton’s self-insurance reserves totaled

$148 million and $146 million at December 31, 2004 and 2005, as accrued based

on the estimates of the present value of claims expected.” (Hilton 10-K) Hilton’s

use of self retention could save money on insurance dollars as long as the

number of claims in the self-retention range does not consistently increase.

Hilton accounts for brands and goodwill in accordance with FAS 142,

“Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets,” which requires that intangible assets

with indefinite lives are not amortized, but are reviewed annually for impairment

(Hilton 2006 10-K). The annual impairment review requires estimates of future

cash flow with respect to the brands and estimates of the fair value of our

company and its components with respect to goodwill. During 2005 goodwill

decreased by 24 million dollars due to 13 million dollars in adjustments to

reserves and 11 million dollars due to asset sales. (Hilton 2005 10-K)

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23

Degree of Potential Accounting Flexibility Flexibility for Hilton Hotels Corp. accounting policies can vary in many

different degrees. While Hilton complies with SEC and GAAP when they prepare

their financial statements, there are still other choices management can use to

utilize accounting flexibility to optimize gains.

Inventories, which consist mostly of summary goods, account for more

than 42 percent of all inventories, for the kitchen and the bar, are valued at the

lower of cost or estimated net realizable value. From an income approach, FIFO,

first inventory in first inventory out, is a more preferred policy that could be used

to increase net income. This is very significant information to note but the

flexibility is limited due to the fixed cost of these inventories and the only

flexibility is the reporting (FIFO). Also, Hilton has another part of inventory which

is work-in-progress inventory. This relates to the construction of new timeshare

resorts and developments which they record as revenue under the percentage of

completion method. As relates to the key accounting policy of straight line

depreciation even with this being work-in-progress inventory. This can be flexible

to the degree of the amount of revenues they can recognize during

development.

Hilton uses operating leases vs. capital leases on some of their assets.

One reason for this is that using operating leases decreases the amount of tax

expense since the firm has fewer assets on record. Capital leases would offer

some flexibility for Hilton if they decided to buy out the current operating leased

assets. If they purchase those assets instead of renting them, they could show

an increase in net income because of the increase in assets and decreases in

expenses that were from the previous operating leases.

Straight line depreciation is another accounting policy that Hilton chooses

to use that allows for some accounting flexibility. Another route that could be

chosen by Hilton is to use the accelerated method of depreciation; this would

allow for faster write-offs than using the straight line method. In addition, this

Page 25: Hilton Spring 2007

24

method would provide a greater tax benefit by showing more expenses in the

depreciation write-off account, but the trade-off would be the reduction in net

income.

Since Hilton has chosen to be self-insured the only thing that is flexible

about using retention is the discount rates associated with the claims and

settlements. The discount rates used to calculate the present value of some of

the past settlements has ranged from 3.0% to 4.25%. These are all numbers

that can easily be manipulated by the manager’s preferences.

Since all of these policy choices can have significant impact on the

reported performance of a firm, they offer an opportunity for the firm to manage

its reported numbers. (Palepu p3-7)

Actual Accounting strategy

Hilton has a very detailed accounting strategy; when reviewing their 10k,

it is very evident that the main priority is for all their policies to comply within

GAAP. Since they tend to always look back on historical experience and relate to

the past with no new significant changes in accounting strategy we can say that

Hilton has conservative accounting practices.

All Items that are reported are in accordance to FAS regulations. To account

for the sale of real estate they follow FAS 66, which means they defer the gains

and realize them over the term of the contract. However, for intangible assets

Hilton chooses to follow FAS 144; this requires them to review items such as

management and franchise contracts to find if carrying value may not be

recoverable. They amortize their leases and contracts using straight line

depreciation over the life of the agreements. When it comes to property that

Hilton has bought, they choose to account for it at the estimated fair value and

take out the accumulated depreciation. This is required to make the proper

flexibility of the asset account available. The concern for Hilton in stretching out

their expenses equally over the periods of useful life (depreciation expense,

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25

amortization expense, etc.) further attributes to our perception that Hilton uses

conservative accounting strategies, thus limiting the worry that Hilton is an over-

valued company.

The fact that Hilton is a self insured firm affects what accounting strategies

may be used. This is because of the large amounts of money not spent on

insurance and instead it is retained in accounts of liquid assets that are set aside

for future claims. They spend about $148 million dollars a year on insurance for

their employees. This accumulation leads to heavy reserves, making it important

for them to get outside assistance to make sure that the estimate is correct.

This proves to be an excellent policy to have and limits the “risk” of presenting a

false perception of the welfare of their company.

Quality of Disclosure

The quality of disclosure is a vital dimension determining the accounting

quality of a firm. While the management holds the majority stake in disclosing

the firms truest transactions (being guided slightly by the GAAP rules), it

becomes that much more pertinent to evaluate a firms disclosure relative to the

other powerhouses within the industry. When a firm chooses the aggressive

accounting approach of disclosure, it will ultimately depict the prettiest picture of

its yearly fiscal transactions on the annual 10-K. Whether it may be based on

management compensations, or favorable capital market considerations, this

increases the level of complexity in comprehending the actual value of the firm.

In addition to the fact that the majority of shareholders hold a novice level

involving financial statement analysis, being able to correctly interpret such data

not only is value added, but becomes essentially imperative prior to making

decisions regarding a firm’s standing. As for the lodging industry, none are

strangers to such aggressive accounting tactics.

The Management’s Discussion, disclosed in the footnotes of the 10-K, still

chose an aggressive accounting approach. The industry leader Marriott

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International Inc. (MAR) advanced to surprising levels above the industry norm

of having a standard yet had a vague approach in identifying any irregularities

that a firm may incur. Meanwhile, the other two of the industry’s leaders, Hilton

Hotels Corp. (HLT), and Starwood Hotels and Resorts (HOT), are almost identical

in their reluctance in revealing any abnormalities.

Due to the fact that all three firms elect such an aggressive accounting

approach, that essentially means that the industry norm is to deter from

adequately disclosing operationally potential bad news. An astounding revelation

that we encountered, was that of Top 3 in the Lodging industry, none chose to

even disclose a Management Discussion and Analysis of the Financial Conditions

section prior to 2003. We have yet to determine if this recent addition is a result

of a new industry regulation or just a restoration of the investor’s faith after the

deterioration of the travel and lodging industry after the bombing of the World

Trade Centers in 2001. Surprisingly, all firms held congruency with relative ease,

despite its involvement amidst multiple business, geographical, and product

segments. “We are engaged in the ownership, management, and development of

hotels, resorts, and timeshare properties and the franchising of lodging

properties domestically and internationally.”(Marriott International, Hilton Hotels

Corp., and Starwood Hotels and Resorts, 10-K 2006) This was the consistent

verbatim exposition phrase within the footnotes on the 10K’s of Hilton, Marriott,

and Starwood alike.

The most pronounced quandary we chanced on was the vigorous channel-

stuffing exhibited by Hilton Hotel Corp. “Notes receivable are reflected net of an

estimated allowance for uncollected amounts.” (Hilton Hotel Corp. 10-K 2006)

Inflating such a receivable or deflating the amount of the estimated allowance

for uncollected amounts, consequently boost reported revenues and net income

for the period. The notes receivable asset accounts depicted on Hilton’s 10-K’s

were; $558M in 2003, $635M in 2004, and $707M in 2005 respectively. While the

estimated bad-debt expense liability accounts were reported as; $68M in 2003,

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$77M in 2004, and $72M in 2005. Distortions in these figures ultimately results

to large negative adjustments to the next year’s pre-tax income. Total notes

receivable for Hilton actually logged as; $236M in 2003, $350M in 2004, and

$401M in 2005. This very visible deviation reveals Hilton’s “aggressively

accounted” revenues were distorted approximately; $332M in 2003, $285M in

2004, and $306M in 2005.

Their aggressive approach to disclosure proved to be a quite difficult task

in regards to the overall valuation analysis. Overall accounting disclosure is

subject to the discretions of management. Whether it be obtaining favorable

capital market considerations to flatter Hilton’s investors, or intrinsically rooted

within the management’s compensation. They resonated of an ever prevalent

tendency for goal of the management amplify Hilton’s accurate financial

performance and conceal any competitive obstacles that it may be facing. We

concluded that Hilton Hotel Corp.’s quality of disclosure is ranging amongst the

ranks of poor to mediocrity. Due to the sizeable capacity embellished with their

inflated long-term assets resulting in an exaggerated net income for the period,

and the augmented intricacy in obtaining critical information in determining their

factual financial stature.

The following is an investigation of some of the Lodging Industry’s key

financial ratios, which can also be used as central quantitative measures and

indicators that there may be a pronounced presence of “accounting noise” from

management. We will explicitly analyze ratios from the firms in which we

previously referred to as “The Three-Headed Giant of the Lodging Industry”.

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Screening Ratio Analysis HILTON (HLT)

Sales Manipulation Diagnostics 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006net sales/ cash from sales 1.08 1.07 1.07 1.08 1.09

net sales/ accts rec 12.98 15.52 15.41 14.22 12.39net sales/ inventory 27.45 19.79 28.79 20.26 18.98

Expense Manipulation Diagnostics sales/ assets 0.46 0.47 0.50 0.51 0.50

CFFO/ OI 1.03 0.74 0.83 0.60 0.51 CFFO/ NOA 0.16 0.10 0.16 0.16 0.13

total accruals/ change in sales 2.56 111.33 1.01 1.03 0.12 other employment exps/ sga 6.02 5.78 4.87 5.98 7.52

STARWOOD HOTELS (HOT) Sales Manipulation Diagnostics 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

net sales/ cash from sales 1.13 1.00 1.10 1.12 1.11 net sales/ accts rec 8.44 9.04 11.14 9.31 10.08net sales/ inventory 17.00 17.58 14.47 21.35 10.56

Expense Manipulation Diagnostics sales/ assets 0.28 .32 0.44 0.48 0.64

CFFO/ OI 1.20 1.00 0.50 1.09 .93 CFFO/ NOA .09 .11 0.08 0.22 .19

total accruals/ change in sales 0.74 0.37 0.58 0.67 n/a other employment exps/ sga 6.72 5.20 13.24 12.93 12.93

MARRIOT HOTELS (MAR) Sales Manipulation Diagnostics 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

net sales/ cash from sales 1.11 1.14 1.13 1.11 1.10 net sales/ accts rec 10.19 8.28 8.62 10.32 10.89net sales/ inventory n/a n/a 14.50 21.30 10.50

Expense Manipulation Diagnostics sales/ assets 1.02 1.10 1.17 1.35 1.42

CFFO/ OI 0.90 1.12 1.87 1.51 0.96 CFFO/ NOA 0.20 0.17 0.37 0.36 0.78

total accruals/ change in sales 0.11 0.28 0.15 0.13 0.31 other employment exps/ sga 32.77 15.51 14.85 13.60 15.47

SALES & EXPENSE MANIPULATION DIAGNOSTICS

These ratios are screening tools that are used to identify potential

manipulation of accounting numbers by managers. Managers are constantly

concerned with the bottom line and often have quite an incentive to manipulate

these numbers to boost profits. Simply, these ratios are in place to catch

numbers that don’t add up. The sales manipulation diagnostics deal with a firms

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Net Sales/ Cash from Sales

0.90

0.95

1.00

1.05

1.10

1.15

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

years

HLT

HOT

MAR

reported revenue and the contributing line items. We “run” these numbers to

find any possible discrepancies between sales and the accounts that play a role

in their reported revenue.

The expense manipulation diagnostics are in place for the same reason; to

catch the possible manipulation of numbers in order to boost revenues. These

ratios however deal mainly with expenses that can be hidden or manipulated to

boost profits. Manipulating expenses for a firm may be as simple renaming

certain business transactions. Basically, they don’t need a complex scheme for

manipulating numbers in order to boost profits. The GAAP in the U.S. are quite

flexible so a firm can portray an accurate picture of its economic standing.

However, some firms may choose to take advantage of these flexible accounting

guidelines.

Sales Manipulation Diagnostics

Net sales/ cash from sales

This ratio is a measure of a firm’s ability to collect cash from sales

transactions. An increasing number may indicate that a firm is relaxing its credit

policy to create more sales. Technically it doesn’t mean a firm is making up sales

it just means they are less likely to collect cash on a high percentage of their

sales. Hiltons’ ratio along with their two top competitors’ ratio over the last five

years is steady and indicates they are able to collect cash from sales at an

acceptable rate.

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Net Sales/ Accts Rec

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

14.00

16.00

18.00

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

HLT

HOT

MAR

Net sales/ Accounts Receivable

This ratio goes hand in hand with the previous one and is a further

measure to indicate a firm’s ability to collect cash from sales. Again it also keeps

an eye on the firm’s accounts receivables and credit policies. An increase in this

number can also mean a firm is puffing up sales or unable to collect cash from

those sales. Hilton’s ratio fluctuates slightly over the last five years, but overall

evens out. Hilton is a brand name hotel that historically has a healthy rate of

sales. Indicating to us that these numbers are rather accurate and with out any

material distortions.

Net sales/ Inventory

Another ratio to catch false increases in sales is the net sales to inventory.

A steady and material decline in this ratio may indicate sales are being

manipulated. Essentially if sales are increasing, a firm’s inventory should show a

similar increase to uphold the sales increase. Hilton’s ratio is visibly declining and

they have quite and increase to sales in 2006. This could indicate they are

manipulating sales or simply their product is declining in demand. Looking at

Hilton’s balance sheet, we see their inventory increase at a rate that probably

negates the possibility of sales manipulation- their inventory does increase, just

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Net Sales/ Inventory

0.00

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

30.00

35.00

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

HLT

HOT

MAR

not at the same rate sales increased. Given Hilton’s industry and type of

inventory this doesn’t emphatically imply Hilton is manipulating its sales

numbers.

Expense Manipulation Diagnostics

Sales/ Assets

Also known as Declining Asset Turnover; which are sales divided by

assets. This ratio, hence the name can become a concern if it is found to be

declining over a period of four to five years. Specifically, a firm can hide

expenses in this manner by capitalizing expenses and recording them as assets.

Certain expenses incurred during a construction project for example are not to

be capitalized until after completion. It would not be very difficult for a firm to

shuffle expenses around during such a period and seemingly create more profits

during periods of less activity. Generally, hiding expenses in this manner makes

the ratio decline and pushes it below one. Hilton’s ratio is below one, however it

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Declining Asset Turnover

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

1.60

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

HLT

HOT

MAR

is not declining and it stays at pretty steady rate. Since the majority of Hilton’s

assets are real property their assets are generally going to be pretty high.

Total Accruals/ Change in Sales

This ratio can be a sign of expenses getting buried if total accruals are

declining at the same time the year over year change in sales is increasing. The

bulk of total accruals are generally depreciation and amortization charges. There

are a number of ways to account for these expenses, and accountants can be

pretty creative in doing so all the while staying with in GAAP. Hilton’s total

accruals are declining, all be it at a slow and steady rate. This ratio may very well

indicate they are hiding expenses, especially when you look at their Net

Operating Assets. Which, as mentioned above with a lot of real property they

have a good deal of NOA’s to depreciate. An increase in their PP&E should bring

an increase in depreciation charges. The large spike in the ratio can be

contributed to a dismal increase to sales in 2003.

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Total Accruals/ Change in Sales

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

8.00

9.00

10.00

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

HLT

HOT

MAR

Other Employment Exp/ S. G. & A. Exp

The two components of this ratio: Other Employment Expenses & Selling,

General, and Administrative Expenses (SGA) should generally move in the same

direction. By the same notion an increase in sales should also bring a similar

increase in these two items. When these two numbers move in different

directions it is a pretty good indicator that managers could be playing around

with the numbers to hide expenses. Hilton’s ratio doesn’t indicate anything out of

sync and is pretty much “middle of the road” when compared to their

competitors. Furthermore, the two expenses move along together over the past

five years.

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Other Employment Exp/ SG & A

0.00

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

30.00

35.00

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

HLT

HOT

MAR

Identifying Potential Red Flags

One of the last steps in analyzing accounting quality is to look for

potential red flags that may point to questionable accounting. This takes into

consideration the previous steps of the key accounting policies used by the firm

and which items managers have a material amount of flexibility or influence on,

and to evaluate how aggressive or conservative the managers are in

implementing these strategies. As discussed above, one of the tools used in this

analysis are the revenue and expense diagnostic ratios that can possibly point

out areas where manipulation of numbers or questionable accounting practices

are used. These indicators however do not automatically assume that funny

things are going on within the company. When these indicators pop up that

means further analysis is needed to determine why these “red flags” are present.

Changes in accounting policy are sometimes necessary to accurately

portray the economic picture of the company. When these changes occur

however there should be adequate disclosure about what the changes are and

why they were implemented. In analyzing Hilton’s 2005 10-k, we did not find any

unexplained changes in their accounting that may imply Hiltons managers were

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dressing up financial statements. Another potential occurrence that may signify

questionable accounting are unexplained transactions on the balance sheet that

boost profits such as asset sales. Hilton actively seeks to benefit from sales of

certain properties when conditions are right, however these transactions are well

disclosed, and do not seem to be “balance sheet transactions” to simply puff up

revenue. The revenue from the sale of these assets are generally deferred over

the life of a managing contract they agree to with the buyer, as they still have an

interest in these properties (p 34, 2005 10-k.)

Unusual increases in accounts receivable to sales is one of the revenue

manipulation diagnostic ratios that when declining year over year can be a

potential red flag. Hilton’s ratio of sales to accounts receivable while fluctuating

over the last five years was found to have a significant decline from 2004 to

2005. While this may appear to be a red flag sales also increased significantly in

the same time period and we found no changes in their credit policy that would

indicate they were relaxing terms in order to load up this account and boost

assets. Another revenue diagnostic ratio that was found to be declining was the

inventory to sales ratio. Sometimes this can signal that demand for a firm’s

product is slowing down (p. 3-9, Palepu, Healy, Bernard.) However, given

Hiltons’ industry classification and their type of inventory the opposite seems to

be the case; this is likely due to a build up in “work in progress” inventories

which generally indicates an increase in expected sales (p. 3-9, P, H, B.) “Work

in progress” was not reported. However, we did find Hiltons’ management

expects to see and increase in sales particularly in the timeshare segment where

development of resorts and properties is ongoing (p. 25, 2005 10-k.)

An increasing gap between reported income and cash flows from

operating activities was a potential red flag that also caught our attention. This

can mean a firm is recognizing revenues unjustly (ahead of schedule), burying

expenses, or both. This can be easily done and hidden when a firm is

undertaking large construction contracts and employing the percentage of

completion method to recognize revenues (p. 3-10, P, H, B.) Hilton uses this

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CFFO/ OI

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

1.60

1.80

2.00

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

HLT

HOT

MAR

method and is constantly engaged in developing properties. We found that

Hilton’s net income increased by approximately 50 percent in 2004 and 100

percent in 2005. During the same time period their CFFO decreased 12 percent.

Hilton is currently allowed to defer selling and marketing expenses under the

percentage of completion method during the construction of projects which

would also aid in the increasing gap between their reported income and their

CFFO. In 2006 under FAS 152 (p. 53-54, 2005 10-k) Hilton will be not be allowed

to defer these selling and marketing expenses, and is something to keep and eye

on in future periods.

Total Accruals to the change in sales is another one of the expense

manipulation ratios that raised a red flag. This can be a problem if total accruals

are declining while the change in sales keeps showing an increase. As mentioned

earlier, this is the case with Hilton over the last five years, and can be a sign that

expenses with regard to depreciation and amortization are being buried.

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Undo accounting distortions

The next step in the accounting analysis is to recognize the “red flags”

that were identified in the last section that may be intentionally misleading. It

should also be noted again that unusual accounting practices that are found may

not simply be that the company is trying intentionally to hide or misrepresent

information. After analysis of Hilton’s 10-k and many of their competitors 10-k’s

Hilton seems to stealthily report or generalize some information and numbers

that could be used to undo potential red flags that were identified in the above

section. As mentioned earlier, we found Hiltons accounting to be rather

aggressive. Specific areas of aggressiveness where they employed this strategy

were recognizing revenues under the percentage of completion method and the

deferral of certain selling and marketing expenses while developing projects.

Although Hiltons reporting may be vague in some areas and overall aggressive

we do not believe they are guilty of grossly distorting or reporting information

that is materially misleading.

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Ratio Analysis and Forecast of Financials

The financial statements of a company can be very telling and provide a

more accurate view of their financial condition. However, to realize the impact of

these statements they need to be analyzed and interpreted. That is the purpose

of this section; we will evaluate the financial condition of Hilton and the results of

its operations. We’ll examine trends in their past performance and benchmark it

against individual competitors and industry standards. This is the Trend and

Cross section analyses- a set of ratios that measure the condition of a company’s

liquidity, profitability, and capital structure. We’ll express the implications of

these ratios and attempt to relate them to underlying business strategies. Next,

using this information on their past performance we will forecast each of Hilton’s

basic financial statements for further insight into their financial health and

effectiveness of their strategies.

Trend and Cross Sectional Analysis

Profitability 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Gross Profit Margin 46.0% 32.8% 34.3% 37.6% 31.4%

Operating Exp. Ratio 9.9% 10.6% 11.7% 13.7% 11.1%

Operating Profit Margin 24.9% 22.2% 22.6% 23.9% 20.3%

Net Profit Margin 5.2% 4.3% 5.7% 10.4% 7.0%

Asset turnover 0.56 0.57 0.50 0.51 0.50

Return on Assets 2.9% 2.5% 2.9% 5.3% 3.5%

Return on Equity 9.6% 7.3% 9.3% 16.4% 15.3%

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Profitability Ratios

Amidst the balancing-act between enhancing overall consumer value,

refortifying brand identity, and increasing firm profitability lies Hilton Hotel Corp’s

intrinsic differentiation strategy, to separate the Hilton name from the Industry

and fuse it with consumer quality. Such a commitment requires them to

constantly entertain projects to achieve such a value-added status. Yet to come

upon such glory does have its price. When successfully implementing a

competitive strategy such as Hilton’s, the selling, general, and administrative

expenses, (SG&A), and research and development (R&D) costs will increase in

line with the firms various other operating activities thus affecting overall

operating efficiency and most importantly, profitability. Hilton’s recent acquisition

of HI (Hilton International), the Hilton Group plc, provides insight into the influx

of liabilities and the overall fiscal performance of the firm and the results of its

operations. When determining a firm’s operating efficiency all items pertaining to

the income statement are set as a proportion to sales to easier depict the trend

of certain expense investitures and profit margins.

GROSS PROFIT MARGIN 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 46.0% 32.8% 34.3% 37.6% 31.4%

H O T 24% 17.2% 44.22% 45%.43 30.21%

M A R 4% 4.7% 11.3% 11% 14.6%

((Gross Profit/ Sales))

Above is Hilton’s Gross Profit Margin which is a measure of pure revenue,

(sales net of all the cost of goods sold). An increased amount is favorable that

shows peak operations at decreasing normally fixed expenses. Although

obtaining a large increase (45%) in the dollar amount of sales from 2005-2006,

the cost of goods sold (COGS) did not decrease substantially enough for a positive

percentage change. With and increase as big as 45% in sales an increase in

expenses is an industry norm.

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Operating Exp Ratio

0.00%2.00%4.00%6.00%8.00%

10.00%12.00%14.00%16.00%

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

H L TH O TM A RInd. Avg.

OPERATING EXPENSE RATIO 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 9.9% 10.6% 11.7% 13.7% 11.1%

H O T 11.0% 14.3% 6.2% 6.2% 7.9%

M A R 2.8% 5.8% 6.0% 6.5% 5.65%

((SG&A Expenses/ Sales))

Exacting a competitive strategy for quality is prevalent with the top ranks

of the industry’s leading firms. Although the Marriott holding the top spot of the

industry has done fine job of minimizing their operating expenses, which is a

measurement of how much is expensed for a single dollar of sales. The laggards

of the three headed giant, Hilton and Starwood, seem to be gradually increasing.

Obtaining the number one spot from the principle firm requires larger

commitments than the actual leader.

Whether it may be Starwood’s investments into streamlining its new elite

brand W hotels, or Hilton’s massive acquisition of its International brand lines,

the gradual increase of operating expense justifiable by increased R&D costs as a

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Operating Profit Margin

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

H L TH O TM A RInd. Avg.

part of SGA explains why Hilton holds highest operating Profit margin on the

industry.

OPERATING PROFIT MARGIN

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 H L T 24.9% 22.2% 22.7% 23.89% 20.3% H O T 15.1% 11.3% 12.2% 13.8% 14.0% M A R 6.8% 4.2% 4.7% 4.8% 8.3%

((Operating Income / Sales))

The recent year activity 2005 -2006 the increase in sales was

proportionally higher than the total percentage increase in operating expense,

and the operating income, which in turn affect the operating profit margin.

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Net Profit Margin

-10.00%

-5.00%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

H L TH O TM A RInd. Avg.

The Net Profit Margin is a key indicator for evaluating Operating

Efficiency. This ratio is a measurement of the percentage of every marginal dollar

of sales that is retained as actual profit.

NET PROFIT MARGIN 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 5.2% 4.3% 5.7% 10.4% 7.1%

H O T 9.2% 8.2% 7.4% 7.1% 17.4%

M A R 3.3% 5.6% 5.9% 5.8% 5.0%

((Net Income / Sales))

With increases in the overall dollar amount of sales and net income, due

to inflated operating expenses, Hilton was unable to maximize on such a

productive year. While Starwood whose operating expenses are much more

diminutive than Hilton’s was able to enjoy the industry’s highest actual profit

yield. And the industry leader has held a mixture of consistent competitive

strategies, and operating activities, that result in steady yields.

Page 44: Hilton Spring 2007

43

Asset Turnover

00.20.40.60.8

11.21.41.6

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

H L TH O TM A RInd. Avg.

Determining the revenue productivity of all of a firm’s assets becomes

vital in the profit valuation of a company. How many times can a firm turn a

single asset into profit? Well, this Asset Turnover Ratio derives how much every

dollar of assets can be utilized into a single dollar amount of sales.

ASSET TURNOVER 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T .56 .57 .50 .51 .50

H O T .31 .31 .44 .48 .64

M A R 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4

((Sales/ Totals Assets))

While asset management and operating efficiency both summate to

overall profitability, both can be gauged by considering the profits themselves

and the resources used to produce those profits (productivity.) The return on the

asset ratio is tied to the net profit margin and the asset turnover. Each firm sets

its own benchmark with the idea to increase this variable demonstrating a

positive trend in overall operational management, leading to positive profitability

trends.

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44

Since the majority of firms utilize investiture spending on their assets,

analyzing the efficiency of their investment management process is critical to

valuing overall profitability. The asset turnover which is depicted above is the

dollar amount of assets set proportional to its ability to generate a dollar of sales.

This being coupled with a firm’s overall return on sales ratio, or its net profit

margin from above, can effectively demonstrate how much profit a firm can

produce from each dollar of assets invested. (Return on Assets)

RETURN ON ASSETS 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 2.9% 2.5% 2.9% 5.3% 3.5%

H O T 2.9% 2.6% 3.3% 3.4% 11.2%

M A R 3.2% 6.1% 7.1% 7.8% 7.1%

((Net Income/ Total Assets))

Although Hilton saw substantial gains in their sales and net income volume, their

actual return on sales was ultimately negatively impacted due to their lack-luster

year effectively managing their operating expenses. This being coupled with the

recent investment into the HI project proved to have declining results for the

firms return on the assets. Hilton’s differentiation competitive strategy, indicates

that they will be bound to higher than average operating (R & D) costs to secure

brand image with the consumer. The key is to ensure that with the increased

investments in the assets, comes a greater or equal return to justify the

efficiency, and correlation firm’s competitive strategy and its management

activities.

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45

Return on Assets

-4.00%-2.00%0.00%2.00%4.00%6.00%8.00%

10.00%12.00%

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

H L TH O TM A RInd. Avg.

RETURN ON EQUITY 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 9.6% 7.3% 9.3% 16.4% 15.4%

H O T 9.2% 7.4% 8.7% 8.5% 34.7%

M A R 7.9% 13.6% 15.1% 18.5% 21.0%

((Net Income/ Owners Equity))

As a whole the Profitability Evaluation depicts a harrowing year for Hilton.

Seeing substantial gains in profitability, Starwood can attribute its gains with the

success of its newest “W” Hotel premium brand line, to the highest net profit

margins to offset their increasing operating costs. While the same increase in

operating costs hedged Marriott’s success. Yet Hilton with increases in full

operating expenses with the new HI acquisitions coupled with its use of debt to

primarily finance such investitures, increased liabilities to a point the shadowed

their extensive gains in net income. These gains were the key factor that

contained what otherwise should have been a considerable decrease in the

overall profitability of the owner’s interest in the total assets, the return on

equity.

Page 47: Hilton Spring 2007

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Return on Equity

-10.00%

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

H L TH O TM A RInd. Avg.

In conclusion the concept is simple; the goal is to obtain consumer loyalty

through a definitive competitive strategy. But a good idea can only be set in

place to gain sufficient yields, when operating efficiency is optimal. If the two

deviate, then initial returns to sale will increase at a decreasing rate, being

cannibalized by the operating expenditures to implement the project. Firms

should not undertake projects that require higher investments and produce lower

returns. When the balancing act between the company’s values, profitability, and

consumer value are on the same page and forefront with the management, then

all facets of the firm will see gains, including the owner’s equity.

Liquidity

When firms follow the trend of utilizing debt to finance capital ventures,

they consequently expose themselves to much more market risk. This is where

the universal theory is applied, the higher the risk, the higher the required rate

of return from the investors. Thus, evaluating a firm’s risk-exposure and its

ability to convert its material goods into cash (liquidity) to pay its short-term

liabilities is vital to key in on the actual performance for the period and can give

foresight into the future performance as well. “Liquidity refers to the cash

Page 48: Hilton Spring 2007

47

equivalence of assets and the firm’s ability to maintain sufficient near-cash

resources to meet its obligations in a timely manner.” (FSA ratio packet pg. 49)

CURRENT RATIO 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 1.11 1.14 1.76 2.42 0.77

H O T 0.53 n/a 0.79 0.79 0.74

M A R 0.79 0.70 0.83 1.01 1.31

((Current Assets/ Current Liabilities))

Above is a look into the lodging industry leader’s performance with their

assets set directly proportional to their liabilities. This current ratio is an

indication of a firm’s ability to cover its current liabilities with the cash realized

from its current assets. Generally, a current ratio above one indicates a firm is

able to do this. Hilton’s current ratio was above one and inclining by a relatively

steady rate until 2006, when it took a steep decline. This was due to a huge

increase (186%) in current liabilities in 2006, current assets also declined slightly

Liquidity 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Current ratio 1.11 1.14 1.76 2.42 0.77

Quick asset ratio 0.61 0.37 1.41 2.05 0.5

Accounts Rec. turnover 13.0 15.5 15.4 14.2 12.4

Days Sales Outstanding 27.9 23.5 23.7 25.7 29.5

Inventory turnover 11.2 13.3 18.7 12.7 13.0

Days Supply of Inventory 32.5 27.5 19.3 28.9 28.0

Working Capital turnover 69.4 30.6 8.7 3.6 -14.6

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Current Ratio

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

H L TH O TM A RInd. Avg.

in 2006 adding to this decline. This essentially says that for every $1 of current

liabilities Hilton has $0.77 of current assets.

When compared to the industry Hilton’s current ratio seems to be in

better shape than some of its top competitors, however the competitors seem to

have a smoother transition from year to year. Within a firm’s quick asset ratio

are their cash, marketable securities, and account receivable.

QUICK ASSET RATIO 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

HLT 0.61 0.37 1.41 2.05 0.50

H O T 0.42 n/a 0.62 0.70 0.51

M A R 0.46 0.74 0.82 0.66 0.52

((Cash+Mark. Sec.+Accts. Rec. / Current Liabilities))

Hiltons Q.A.R. seems to take another steep decline in 2006. The large

increase in CL in 2006 noted above is the main factor for this sharp decline.

Another factor in the drop is the unusually large increase in cash in 2005, which

Page 50: Hilton Spring 2007

49

Quick Asset Ratio

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

HLTH O TM A RInd. Avg.

shot up the ratio, setting it up for a fall in 2006. Although Hilton’s Q.A.R. of 0.5

in 2006 is potentially troubling, it’s line with the rest of the industry.

A firm’s credit policies are captured within their accounts receivable ratio.

This is a measurement of the number of days that the firm takes to collect on

their receivable accounts. This can be calculated by dividing the amount of the

accounts receivable from the balance sheet into the amount of sales listed form

the income statement.

ACCTS REC TURNOVER

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 13.0 15.5 15.4 14.2 12.4

H O T 10.08 9.31 11.14 n/a 8.44

M A R 10.9 10.3 8.6 8.3 10.2

((Sales/ Accts Rec))

Page 51: Hilton Spring 2007

50

Accts Rec Turnover

0.0

5.0

10.0

15.0

20.0

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

Accounts Rec.turnoverHOT

MAR

Ind. Avg.

This is a slight indication that Hilton has probably relaxed its credit policies

allowing extended dates to collect on an outstanding amount. Having a history of

immense channel-stuffing for aggressive accounting procedures, along with the

consistent increase in sales volume year after year, could hint at inflated future

increases in their allowances for bad debt. . An investor should be looking for a

larger number that shows gradual positive progression. This is a crucial liquidity

ratio that demonstrates a firm’s cash equivalence of its assets, and its ability to

pay it’s liabilities in a timely manner. Whenever a firm is truly operating

efficiently, the increased result of this ratio interprets into a shorter Cash

Collection Cycle. Here we see the similarities between Hilton and Starwood, who

are ranked 2nd and 3rd in the industry, hold both similar fluctuating traits with

slight increases in their receivable turnover ratios but have shown a trend to

gradually decline since 2004. While the #1 ranked Marriott, justifies why it is so

and illustrates a consistent incline since 2004.

Page 52: Hilton Spring 2007

51

Days Sales Outstanding

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

Days SalesOutstanding HOT

MAR

Ind. Avg.

DAYS SALES OUTSTANDING 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 27.9 23.5 23.7 25.7 29.5

H O T 36.2 39.2 32.8 n/a 43.3

M A R 33.5 35.4 42.3 44.1 35.8

Having seen their A/R turnover decrease over the last few years would

implicitly increase their Holding Period. This longer collection period could

indicate something of a short term liquidity problem. If they do not create

enough cash flow from operations they may be forced to use some portion of

debt to keep up with their operations.

Inventory management is usually mandated by the nature of the business

and its need to obtain an optimal level of operating inventory. The correlation of

inventory to the cost of goods sold is vital in examining the efficiency of not only

liquidity, but inventory management. Inventory turnover is computed by dividing

Inventory into Cost of Goods Sold. It is essentially the dollar amount of held

inventory leveraged against the dollar amount spent to acquire sold inventory.

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52

INVENTORY TURNOVER 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 11.2 13.3 18.7 12.7 13.0

H O T 13.8 14.6 8.2 11.7 14.4

M A R 15.3 13.1 14.9 18.5 6.4

((Cost of Goods Sold/ Inventory))

From 2005 to 2006 Hilton doesn’t have much of a change in their

inventory turnover. Their type of inventory is mainly real property that over a

short period of time stays fairly constant. So essentially, since our rate of sales

has increased year over year, this implies to a higher cost of goods sold.

DAYS SUPPLY OF INVENTORY

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 32.5 27.5 19.3 28.8 28.0

H O T 26.6 24.9 44.2 31.0 25.4

M A R 23.8 28.1 24.4 19.8 56.4

Days Supply of Inventory, also known as the Holding Period is a measure

of the number of days every dollar of inventory is converted into a dollar of

sales. It is computed by dividing 365 by the Inventory turnover ratio that was

mentioned above. After seeing how the ratio is computed you can understand

how Hiltons decreasing Inventory turnover above equates into a longer holding

period.

WORKING CAPITAL TURNOVER

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 69.4 30.6 8.7 3.6 -14.6

H O T -3.93 n/a -12.06 -10.03 -9.18

M A R 10.3 8.3 8.7 10.4 11.0

((Sales/ Current Assets – Current Liabilities))

Working capital is CA – CL. A negative WC turnover like Hilton’s has to be

due to a decrease in WC, which is done by decreasing CA or increasing CL. Both

Page 54: Hilton Spring 2007

53

Working Capital Turnover

-20

0

20

40

60

80

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

H L TH O TM A RInd. Avg.

are the case with Hilton, and underscore their low current ratio. Another factor

for the low WC as mentioned above Hilton’s liabilities increased significantly in

2006. This is the primary the cause of the negative WC turnover.

A decreasing Working Capital would normally be a positive sign. However

Hiltons’ decreased by almost 100%; turning negative in less than four years.

Once again Hilton’s underlying problem relates back to their primary policy on

debt financing. Consequently, any increase in CA, sales, and income will be

offset by their heavily leveraged position. This is exactly the case; they had a

substantial increase in sales and an encouraging increase in CA over the last

couple of years. Despite the initially successful years in regards to CA, sales

volume and net income, Hilton could not capitalize because their obligations far

exceeded their returns.

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54

CAPITAL STRUCTURE RATIOS

Capital Structure 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Debt to Equity Ratio 3.1% 2.7% 2.2% 2.1% 3.4%

Times Interest Earned 1.9 1.7 2.3 3.4 2.7

Debt Service Margin 56.7 1.1 39.1 10.3 1.6

Capital Structure Analysis

The Capital Structure of a company refers to the sources of financing used

to acquire resources for operation and is shown by the Liabilities and Owner’s

Equity section of the balance sheet (FSA and ratios, p55.) This section reveals

how much equity financing to debt financing the firm is using and how they are

able to manage these sources of financing.

DEBT TO EQUITY RATIO

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 3.1 2.7 2.2 2.1 3.4

H O T 1.3 1.1 .94 .80 .90

M A R .50 .38 .32 .53 .70

((Total Liabilities / Owners Equity))

The debt to equity ratio helps evaluate the mix of debt and equity that

make up the firm’s capital structure (P,H,B, p.5-17.) It is also an indicator of the

credit risk of a company, which is the possibility that interest and debt

repayment can not be satisfied with available cash flows (FSA and ratios, p55.)

When this ratio gets above 2.5 or 3 it may be a sign of high credit risk and that

the firm is relying too much on debt financing. Not only is Hiltons’ ratio above

this mark, but also well above its industry peers. This is a troubling sign for

Hilton and can be potentially costly to its shareholders (P,H,B, p.5-16.)

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55

Debt to Equity

0

1

2

3

4

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

valu

e - T

imes HLT

HOTMARInd. Avg.

TIMES INTEREST EARNED

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 1.8 1.7 2.3 3.4 2.7

H O T 1.7 1.5 2.6 3.4 3.9

M A R 6.6 3.4 4.8 5.2 8.2

((NIBIT / Interest Expense))

Net Income before interest and taxes = (NIBIT). This ratio is a measure

of how easily a firm can meet its interest payments, and indicates the degree of

risk associated with its debt policy (P,H,B, p.5-17.) This essentially means that a

firm’s Operating Income must be sufficient enough to cover the required interest

expenses of operation before there can be profits to the shareholders (FSA and

ratios, p. 56.) Hilton’s decrease from 3.4 to 2.7 is not a good thing, however 2.7

is not a number that seems outrageously troubling to us. It also doesn’t come as

much of a surprise; Hilton relies heavily on debt financing, so their Interest

expense will generally be high - driving down the ratio. As you can see Hilton’s

T.I.E. ratio is noticeably smaller than its competitors. Even though Hilton is fairly

highly leveraged, they seem to be able to keep up with their interest charges.

Page 57: Hilton Spring 2007

56

Times Interest Earned

0

2

4

6

8

10

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

valu

e - T

imes HLT

HOTMARInd. Avg.

DEBT SERVICE MARGIN 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 56.7 1.1 39.1 10.3 1.6

H O T 1.2 n/a .92 .63 .62

M A R 7.8 6.6 1.8 55.8 17.3

((Operating Cash Flow / Notes Payable ~ current portion))

The Debt Service Margin of a company measures the adequacy of cash

provided by operations (CFFO) to cover the required annual installment

payments on the principal amount of long term liabilities. Within the capital

structure of a company CFFO should be viewed as a major source of cash that

can be used to retire long term debt. Hilton’s DSM of 1.6 indicates that $1.60 of

CFFO was generated to service each dollar of long term debt that will mature in

2007 (FSA and ratios, p.56.) This substantial decrease in Hilton’s DSM is another

negative impact on their capital structure. Even though CFFO should be used as

a source to pay off long term debt, this large decrease in the DSM equates into

even more pressure on their CFFO to service long term debt (FSA and ratios,

Page 58: Hilton Spring 2007

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Debt Service Margin

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

valu

e - T

imes HLT

HOTMARInd. Avg.

p.56.) To further understand the negative impact of this ratio, consider that their

CFFO increased 34% from 2005. However, it wasn’t near enough to keep up with

the 700% increase in the current portion of their long term Notes Payable.

When considering the steady increase in CFFO over the past years the apparent

volatility of this ratio indicates that Hilton may rely too heavily on debt financing

to sustain operations.

Overall status of Hilton’s Capital Structure

Hilton’s debt to equity ratio of 3.4 for 2006 is potentially troubling in itself.

While the past ratios for 2002-2005 may not set off red flags, it underscores their

heavy reliance on debt financing. It also brings the possibility of increasing their

credit risk to outside lenders. Thus, the negative impact of this ratio is two-fold

since Hilton relies so much on outside sources for financing. This ratio gives us a

broad look at Hilton’s capital structure; tying in TIE and DSM will help break it

down. The TIE ratio indicates Hilton is able to generate enough income to cover

their interest charges. However, this ratio by itself can be misleading because

keeping up with interest payments is only half the equation. When coupling this

ratio with their DSM, Hilton seems to be generating only enough income to keep

the creditors off their back. Cutting it this close in both of these ratios brings the

Page 59: Hilton Spring 2007

58

real possibility of not being able to cover their debt payments in full. Hilton

seems to be “living paycheck-to-paycheck.”

In a large corporation such as Hilton we understand the need for, and

potential upside of, debt financing. However, largely due to their highly

leveraged position their overall capital structure is not in good shape. If Hilton’s

reliance on debt financing continues to increase it could mean the start of a

crippling trend. Without getting into the endless quandary of the manager –

owner relationship; we are hard pressed to believe Hiltons’ owners and

executives would let such a trend continue.

Company Growth

SUSTAINABLE GROWTH RATE – (SGR) 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 8.18% 5.98% 8.06% 14.73% 13.68%

H O T 7.78% 3.35% 4.90% 4.93% 25.50%

M A R 6.01% 11.72% 13.20% 16.23% 17.80%

{ROE * (1- DPR)}

A company’s Sustainable Growth Rate is computed by multiplying its ROE

by one minus the dividend payout ratio (DPR= cash dividends paid/ NI.) Keep in

mind: (ROE= NI/ OE.) A firms ROE and its dividend payout policy determine the

pool of funds available for growth. The SGR of a company is impacted by every

one of the liquidity, profitability, and capital structure ratios that was discussed

earlier. By linking these previous ratios to Hilton’s SGR we can determine and

further examine the drivers of their growth (P,H,B, p.5-19, 20.) With ROE and

dividend payout policy in mind, seeing Hilton’s NI increase in 2005 (92%) and

2006 (24%) brings the potential for considerable growth. However their DPR for

the last few years remained pretty constant hovering around 10%. So regardless

of the increases to NI they continue to retain a fairly constant rate of earnings.

(This is supported by the small steady growth in owner’s equity.) With that, the

potential for growth that came with the large increases in NI is diminished by

Page 60: Hilton Spring 2007

59

S. G. R.

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

Perc

enta

ge HLTHOTMAR

that portion of earnings that went to the shareholders. Simply stated, NI can

either be kept within the company and used to foster growth or paid out to

shareholders in the form of dividends. That’s not to say that paying more

dividends won’t help grow the company, it is however a less certain measure.

The drop in Hilton’s SGR in 2006 was set up by the 92% increase in Net Income

in 2005. We believe this spike in NI might have been better allocated and kept

within the company to possibly curb the downturn in 2006. Overall, a SGR of

13.68% is not an unhealthy or troubling number; it does however appear to us

that Hilton has the potential for a higher SGR.

INTERNAL GROWTH RATE – (IGR) 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

H L T 2.45% 2.01% 2.51% 4.74% 3.09%

H O T 2.44% 1.15% 1.85% 1.99% 9.27%

M A R 2.40% 5.31% 6.20% 6.80% 6.03%

{ROA * (1- DPR)}

The internal growth rate (IGR) is computed the same way as the SGR,

except ROE is replaced by ROA; (ROA= NI/ TA.) It measures the potential

growth of the company’s own assets. Hilton’s declining IGR in 2006 can be

contributed to a couple main factors: the 89% increase in total assets in 2006,

Page 61: Hilton Spring 2007

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I. G. R.

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Years

Perc

enta

ge HLTHOTMAR

which decreases ROA; and the fore mentioned 92% increase in NI in 2005.

Again, the increase to NI in 2005 seems to be out of the norm for Hilton and sets

their IGR up for a fall in 2006. Although NI increased by 24% in 2006 it wasn’t

enough to keep up with the increase in assets. This occurrence would drive down

ROA and implicitly their IGR.

Page 62: Hilton Spring 2007

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Forecasting Financials

Forecasting financials is an important and integral part to understanding

the value of a firm. With an inability to accurately look in to the future, we must

use historical data as a means to try to estimate various aspects of a firm. This

process involves making assumptions as to how much a company will grow, or

decline, ten years into the future. What follows are our assumptions that we

made on each of Hilton’s financial statements as well as our analysis of their key

ratios, which are separated into three groups (Liquidity, Profitability, and Capital

Structure). Our overall method on forecasting is called “Growing to Average”

which allows us to have a more conservative approach to forecasting so as to

not grossly overstate any item.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet forecasting helps us to project the future financial

health of Hilton Inc. We began by forecasting the integral items of the Balance

Sheet, Assets, Liabilities, and Shareholder’s Equity; to do this we took the

average growth rate over the past five years and then divided that number by

ten. By doing this, we were able to grow items at a very conservative rate.

(See below)

For items like Cash, Accounts payable, and L-T Liability Charge we used the

average of the percentages from the common-size income statement. For

example, Cash had a common size of (See Below):

Page 63: Hilton Spring 2007

62

We averaged out the common sizes (leaving out 2005 because it is an outlier

and would skew the growth rate higher) and got a number of 2.57%. This

number means that, on average, Cash was approximately 2.57% of Total Assets.

We used 2.57% as a means for forecasting out Cash, as well as other items such

as Accounts payable. This method once again allows for a conservative

approach to forecasting out Hilton’s financials.

We used an Average Growth Rate method to forecast out items such as

PP&E, Accounts and Notes Receivables, and Capital Surplus as these are

numbers that are subject to grow as the company grows. The method involves a

way similar to the way that Liabilities were forecasted except that we took a year

by year growth rate and averaged those. We then grew the line-item by this

amount. This method was not as conservative as the other two but we can

sacrifice some level of conservativeness in order to not grossly understate these

forecasted line items.

We used a basic average of the five years worth of actuals to forecast for

other items like Pre-paid expenses and other current assets, intangible assets,

long term debt, capital leases, and other long term liabilities as well as common

stock. These accounts were forecasted on an average basis because they consist

mostly of steady growth and remain pretty consistent. The inventory turnover

was also used in efforts to forecast inventory projections. Using simple algebra,

we solved for inventory by plugging in the newly forecasted cost of goods sold

over x, the variable for unknown inventory, and set it equal to the inventory

turnover that we established for the past 5 years of actuals. We used mostly

averages in forecasting the balance sheet because we feel like an average

Page 64: Hilton Spring 2007

63

growth of the past years will produce the small growth expected in the future ten

years.

Special Consideration for forecast of Retained Earnings

Retained Earnings was a special case in that we did not forecast out R.E.

per say, rather, we used the formula of:

R.E. = Beg. R.E. + Net Income – Dividends paid

This allowed our R.E. to fall inline with our forecasted Net Income with relative

ten year growth steady between the two. For the five year actuals, R.E. grew

by 416%, for the ten-year forecasted, R.E. grew by 320% with N.I. growing by

188% over five year actuals and 98% over ten-year forecasted. However, it is

important to note that Hilton has disclosed that they take the exercise of

Common Stock into account in their R.E. (See Below).

-Courtesy of Hilton 2006 10-K

It is important to note that R.E. will likely not be as high as our forecasted due to

our assumption that none will be reinvested. However, in reality, Hilton would

likely reinvest in new capital such as PP&E or reduction of L-T debt, as the

opportunity cost of just holding cash is high.

“Un-Forecastable” Items

There were line-items that were either unable to be forecast due to being

too volatile or unable to be predicted in a stable manner. Due to this, there is a

discrepancy between Assets and Liabilities + Shareholder’s Equity; this

discrepancy is captured in the red row (See below).

Page 65: Hilton Spring 2007

64

This column grows as it nears the end of the ten forecasted years, this growth

represents the “un-forecastable” growth of all the “un-forecastable” line items

spread out over ten years.

Page 66: Hilton Spring 2007

65

Balance Sheet

Page 67: Hilton Spring 2007

66

Balance Sheet cont.

Page 68: Hilton Spring 2007

67

Income Statement

For the income sheet, the assumptions were made very similar to the

balance sheet. First we took the averages of the growth rates of the Net Sales

as expressed below:

We took the 7.92% and used that to grow our Net Sales for the next ten years.

Next, we took the seven other essential forecast-able components (C.O.G.S.,

S.G.A. Expenses, Interest Expense, Depreciation, Non-Operating Income,

Provision for Income Taxes, Minority Interest) and averaged their 5-year

common-size data. For example:

We added 53.99% through 68.57% and divided that number by 5 to get

63.57%. We then made the conservative assumption that COGS would be

approximately 63.57% of N.I. We used this method for all seven essentials as

listed above. We found this method to be conservative in nature due to it being

a steady number across the ten years so as to not overstate N.I. in any period.

Having forecasted out those line items Operating Income and Net Income are

not forecasted per say but rather computed through traditional means having

already forecasted their components. For example, Operating Income is equal to

Gross profit – S.G.A., both of which were forecasted out using the above

methods. This same concept applies to Net Income, allowing for an accurate

Page 69: Hilton Spring 2007

68

portrayal of O.I. and N.I. Using this method we found a 98% growth rate over

the entire ten years for N.I.; this is conservative indeed as Hilton had a 188%

over the entire five years of actual N.I. We justify our smaller growth rate

through the fact that firms go through the complete business cycles complete

with periods of significant growth and growth at a declining rate towards the end

of this significant growth (See Below).

-Courtesy of http://hsc.csu.edu.au/economics

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Income Statement

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Statement of Cash Flows

The Statement of Cash Flows (hereafter referred to as SCF) is by far the

most difficult of the financials to forecast and it is because of this fact that we

did not forecast CFFI nor CFFF (except for Dividends paid). We instead only

forecasted out CFFO; for a couple of the items on the SCF, we were able to pull

the forecasted information from the other financials. For example, the

forecasted Net Income can be pulled from the Income Statement, which was

$844 (in millions) in 2007 (Year 6). We used this same method for Depreciation.

As far as the other items on the Cash Flow Statement, we used the same

method as used on the Income Statement above, “Growing to Average”. Some

numbers we forecasted to be growing at a negative rate, in line with the concept

that the Cash Flow is a measure of Cash Flows in and out of the company.

Dividends Paid

We forecasted Dividends paid as an average of its % of Net Income, this

method is similar to Cash on the Balance Sheet. We found that, on average,

dividends are 13.46% of N.I. therefore we used this as the basis for forecasting

dividends paid out for all ten years. This conservative approach is important in

that it translates into our valuation models at the end of our analysis.

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Statement of Cash Flows

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Cost of Capital Estimation and Analysis

Cost of Equity – (Ke)

The Cost of Equity Capital is related to the market value of the firm’s

equity and can be computed using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM);

however, there are a number of different ways to compute a firms’ cost of

equity. The CAPM expresses the cost of equity (Ke) as the sum of a required

return on risk less assets plus a premium for systematic risk (beta) (Palepu,

Healy, Bernard, p8-3.) Actual components of the CAPM are: a risk free rate, the

market risk premium (MRP= expected mrkt return – Rfr), and beta.

Ke = rf + B[E(rm) – rf]

In order to compute the firms cost of equity (Ke) we had to first run a regression

with various risk free rates from 2000 through 2007(3 month, 1 year, 5 year, 7

year, and 10 year Treasury Bill rates) in order to find the best estimation of beta.

The best estimation of beta is the regression analysis that yields the highest

adjusted R squared percentage that relates to the type of risk free rate chosen in

the regression. This is why we had to run a number of regressions using

different risk free rates. For the market return we used the S&P 500’s monthly

return data. However we ended up estimating the market risk premium at 6%.

We used 6% because the historical risk premium of 7% is thought to be less

valid today. Recent academic research has found the MRP has declined

substantially and may actually be around 3 to 4 percent (P,H,B, p.8-4.) Since this

is an unresolved matter we simply used a slightly smaller rate.

(Rf) -- Risk free rate

3mnth 1yr 5yr 7yr 10yr 0.04300 0.04208 0.03925 0.03925 0.03933

Mrkt Cap. = MVe

MVa = MVf = MVl + MVe

^(Kd) ^(Ke)

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We ended up using the 3 month Treasury bill rate from 2007 since it was

the most current and because its beta had the highest adjusted R squared

percentage. When we ran the regression using the 3 month Treasury bill rate for

72 months it yielded a beta of 1.105 and an adjusted R squared of 24.45%.

Once we derived these numbers we plugged them into the CAPM model and

estimated Hilton’s Ke at 10.93%. A firm’s estimation of its Ke is important for a

number of reasons. It is used as the discount rate when analyzing potential

future projects, and also measures the required return of an investor. It can also

be used as benchmark for the firm’s ROE. The chart above on the right side

shows the association of the Ke, and how it effects the computation of a firm’s

weighted average cost of capital (WACC).

3 month Regression Analysis months Beta Adj. R^2 Ke

72 1.1052 0.2245 0.1093 60 0.8889 0.1714 0.0963 48 1.0876 0.1361 0.1083 36 1.5152 0.1949 0.1339 24 1.8622 0.2091 0.1547

Cost of Debt – (Kd)

The cost of a firm’s debt is a weighted average and it is estimated using

the respective interest rate associated with each type of debt. Both short and

long term debt are used in the estimation of the cost of capital. Actually

computing the estimate of the cost of debt is relatively simple. We first

computed a weighted average of each necessary liability- with Total Liabilities as

the common denominator. Then multiplied them by their respective interest

rates, which were either found from the St. Louis Fed or in their 10-k. For the

interest rates regarding their short term debt and accounts payable we used the

three month Treasury bill rate of 4.97% (St. Louis Fed.) Other rates regarding

income taxes and long term debt were found in their 10-k. To discount their long

term debt which has a floating interest rate, we used an average of these rates

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found in their 10-k of 7.95%. For their income taxes an interest rate of 5.02%

was used which again was in their 10-k in the tax table. Using this formula we

estimated Hilton’s Kd to be 6.89%. A large portion of Hilton’s debt is long term

and coupled with their ongoing operating lease obligations. Note that the cost of

borrowing money long term brings a higher interest rate. Since Hilton has a lot

of leases on their books and a strong position in long term debt in general, this

likely equates to Hilton’s cost of debt (Kd) being slightly higher than some of its

industry peers.

Estimation of Cost of Debt

Int. Rate source Int. Rate 2006 weight Kd per

item Current Liabilities

Short/Current Long Term Debt *1 4.97% 522 0.04093 0.0020 Income taxes payable 10-k 5.02% 44 0.00345 0.0002 Accounts Payable *1 4.97% 1,736 0.13611 0.0068

L T liabilities and debt Long Term Debt and Capital Leases 10-k 7.95% 6946 0.54461 0.0433 Insurance reserves &other LTL 10-k 4.25% 1276 0.10005 0.0043 Deferred Long Term Liability Charges 10-k 7.65% 2065 0.16191 0.0124

Total Liabilities 12754 1.00000

Kd = 6.89% 0.06891 *1 -- 3-Month Treasury Constant Maturity Rate (GS3M)

Weighted Average Cost of Capital – (WACC)

The WACC can be computed before or after tax. This is simply done by

inserting or removing the tax rate from the equation. The tax in the WACCAT is

accounted for by (1- tax rate.) The WACC is a product of the Ke and the Kd that

was computed above.

Vfirm = Vdebt + Vequity

WACC = [(Vd / Vf)(Kd) * (1-T)] + (Ve/Vf)(Ke)

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The different values of the firm (Vd, Ve, Vf) that are needed to compute the

WACC are in terms of the market value. The chart below was introduced at the

beginning of this section for the Ke estimation, and may help give a clearer

picture of how these market values of the firm are derived.

For our valuation we used the after tax WACC and estimated Hilton’s WACC to be

7.91%. In 2006 Hilton had a substantial increase in liabilities; as was discussed

earlier in relation to some of the Liquidity ratios. The increase in liabilities was

mainly attributable to deferred taxes. In 2006 Hilton had to pay a substantial

amount of taxes that had been deferred over the recent years. This is primarily

the reasons why we feel the after tax method gives us a more realistic idea of

Hilton’s cost of capital.

Hilton’s estimated WACC - (after tax)

Mrkt Cap. = MVe

MVa = MVf = MVl + MVe

^(Kd) ^(Ke)

7.91 % =[(12,754 /27,264)(.0599) * (1-.35)]+(14,510 /27264)(.1093)

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Method of Comparables

To value a company using the Method of Comparables you look for firms

within the same industry that have similar operating and financial characteristics.

You can use a number of different measures of performance for calculations. In

this case we use the: trailing and forecasted Price to Earnings (P/E), Price to

Book (P/B), Dividend to Price (D/P), Price to Earnings Growth (P.E.G.), Price to

Earnings Before Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (P/ EBITDA), Price to Free

Cash Flow (P/ FCF), and Enterprise Value to EBITDA. Each measure of

performance is an average of the selected comparable firms multiple applied to

the multiple of the firm being analyzed. This method of valuation is widely used

for its simplicity. Unlike the other methods used, it does not rely on multiple year

forecasts about growth, profitability, any cost of capital measure (P,H,B, p. 7-5.)

However, because this method relies on other firms to estimate a value it can be

somewhat erratic. That is the reason we use a number of different performance

measures, to see which one may value the firm in question- Hilton, the closest.

per share multiples HLT

PPS 34.9 forecasted EPS 1.56 trailing EPS 1.48

BPS 9.63 DPS 0.16

ebitda PS 1.68 fcf PS 1.89

Trailing Price to Earnings – (P/E)

To estimate a share price using the trailing P/E measure, we took the

average P/E ratio of the two competitors; Starwood Hotels (HOT) and Marriot

(MAR), then multiplied it by Hilton’s trailing EPS. That yielded an estimated share

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price of $31.5. The estimated share price is less than Hilton’s actual market

share price of $34.9. By this measure Hilton’s actual market share price is

considered to be overvalued.

HOT MAR Ind. Avg. HLT' s (T) EPS Est. share price

trailing P/E 14.82 27.79 21.31 1.478 31.49

Forecasted Price to Earnings – (P/E)

The forecasted P/E measure is computed the same way as the Trailing P/E

method. The obvious difference being we used forecasted P/E multiples for the

competitors and multiplied it by Hilton’s forecasted EPS. This measure yielded an

estimated share price of $33.74. Technically this says Hilton’s actual market

share price of $34.9 is overvalued. However, this measure yielded the closest

estimated share price to Hilton’s actual market price.

HOT MAR Ind. Avg. HLT' s (F) EPS Est. share price

forecasted P/E 23.17 20.08 21.63 1.56 33.74

Price to Book – (P/B)

The Price to Book measure is computed by multiplying the competitor’s average

P/B ratio times Hilton’s BPS. This measure yielded an estimated share price of

$57.2. This measure states Hilton’s actual market price of $34.9 is undervalued.

Keep in mind that we mentioned earlier this method of valuation can be a little

erratic, and give less than accurate estimates.

HOT MAR Ind. Avg. HLT' s BPS Est. share price

P/B 4.9 6.98 5.94 9.63 57.20

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Dividend to Price – (D/P)

The D/P measure is computed slightly different than the previous ones. To

formulate an estimated share price here we divided Hilton’s DPS by the

competitor’s average D/P ratio. This measure yielded an estimated share price of

$29.1. By this measure Hilton’s actual market price of $34.9 is overvalued.

HOT MAR Ind. Avg. HLT' s DPS Est. share price

D/P 0.006 0.005 0.01 0.16 29.09

Price to Earnings Growth – (P.E.G.)

The P.E.G. ratio is simply a company’s P/E ratio divided by the one year

projected growth rate of their P/E ratio. To get an estimated share price for this

measure we took the average P/E ratio of the two competitors and multiplied it

by one minus Hilton’s EPS growth rate, and then we multiplied that value by

Hilton’s EPS. This measure yielded an estimated share price of $29.8. Again, this

states that Hilton’s actual market price of $34.9 is overvalued.

HOT MAR Ind. Avg. HLT' s EPS & EPS growth rate Est. share price

P.E.G. 14.82 27.79 21.31 1.478 ~ (g = .0534) 29.81

Price to EBITDA – (P/EBITDA)

The Price to Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization

measure is calculated similar to the P/E measure. The average of the two

competitors P/EBITDA ratio is multiplied by Hilton’s EBITDA per share, and yields

an estimated share price of $21.2. Once again this measure of the comparables

method states that Hilton’s actual market price is overvalued.

HOT MAR Ind. Avg. HLT' s EBITDA ps Est. share price

P/ EBITDA 10.1 15.05 12.57 1.69 21.19

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Price to Free Cash Flow – (P/FCF)

The P/FCF measure is also computed similar to the P/E measure. It takes the

average P/FCF multiple of the two competitors and multiplies it by Hilton’s Free

Cash Flow per share. It gives us an estimated share price of $78.4. Meaning

Hilton’s actual market value of $34.9 would be undervalued. This measure is a

good example of how erratic the Method of Comparables method can be.

HOT MAR Ind. Avg. HLT' s FCF ps Est. share price

P/ FCF 64.2 18.8 41.50 1.89 78.40

Enterprise Value to EBITDA – (EV/ EBITDA)

This measure takes into consideration a firm’s Enterprise Value. Which is their

(market value of equity + long term debt + preferred stock) – cash and

equivalents. It is also computed similar to the P/E measure. We took the average

EV/ EBITDA multiple of the two competitors and multiplied it by Hilton’s EBITDA

per share. This measure once again states that Hilton’s actual market price per

share is overvalued.

HOT MAR Ind. Avg. HLT' s EBITDA ps Est. share price

EV/ EBITDA 13 16.2 15.58 1.69 24.56

Summary of Method of Comparables

You probably noticed something of a recurring theme with each measure of this

method. Six of the eight measures we used to value Hilton under this method

yielded an estimated share price that views Hilton’s actual market price of $34.9

to be overvalued. Throughout our analysis of Hilton we have picked up on some

indicators that their actual market price per share may be somewhat overvalued.

This valuation underscores our belief that Hilton’s current market price per share

is overvalued.

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Intrinsic Valuations

Discounted Dividends Valuation

The Discounted Dividends Valuation is a method that involves forecasting

out future dividends and then discounting them back using a Ke (Cost of Equity)

of 10.93% as a discount rate. This is done for ten years with the tenth year

value becoming the perpetuity; this perpetuity is also discounted back to the

present using the same method above. However, with a perpetuity it is

important to note that a growth rate is taken into account in order to discount

the perpetuity initially back to the tenth year and then back to the present. In

running this model we got a value of $3.04 per share (with 387 million shares

outstanding) causing the firm to be over-valued in our estimation. In addition,

we found this model not to have a great deal of explanatory power as Hilton just

recently began paying dividends.

The above represents the overall valuations sensitivity to a change in the growth

rates and the Costs of Equity. In doing this, none of our results caused the firm

to be under-valued as compared to the Current Market Price of $36.13 as of

4/21/07.

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Discounted Cash Flows Valuation

The Discounted Cash Flows Model is a method that involves forecasting

out future Cash Flows (specifically CFFO and CFFI) and then discounting back

those flows to the present. Much like in the previous section, there is a discount

rate used; however, the difference lies in that the Cash Flows are discounted

back to the present using a WACC (Weighted Average Cost of Capital) of 7.91%,

which was discussed previously. In addition, similar to the Dividends Model, the

tenth year is used as a perpetuity which is discounted back using WACC and the

growth rate to Year Ten and back to the present, using WACC only, after that.

In doing this we got a value of $15.79 per share, causing the firm to be over-

valued by our estimation.

The above represents the sensitivity analysis as it relates to this model and once

again shows no values to cause the firm to be under-valued as compared to the

Current Market Price of $36.13. The Cash Flow Model does possess more

explanatory power than the Dividends Model; however, it is still weak in this

power due to the high volatility of forecasting CFFI.

LR ROE/Residual Income Valuation

The Residual Income Model has the most explanatory power of all the

valuations and is thus the one that analysts rely on the most. This is due to the

“anchor” of EPS (N.I./Shares Outstanding) which diminishes the disparity

between the forecasting of dividends and the forecasting of N.I. The R.I. Model

is unique in that it utilizes both N.I. and dividends in order to find a per share

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intrinsic value of the firm. In addition it uses the BVe (Book Value of Equity) to

help in this valuation. In running this model, R.I. (EPS - Normal Income) is

discounted back to the present using Ke as a discount rate and then the

perpetuity is discounted back using a growth rate and Ke to bring it into Year 10

and then just Ke, after that, to discount it back to the present. In running this

model we got a value of $20.85 which causes the firm to be over-valued

according to our estimation.

The above represents our sensitivity analysis as it relates to this model. Unlike

the previous models, this model give us a value of Ke (11%) and growth rates

(5% and 10%) that will cause the firm to be Under-valued as compared to the

Current Market Price of $36.13.

Abnormal Earnings Growth

The Abnormal Earnings Growth model is computed by using a variety of

factors. After establishing all of your actual and forecasted earnings per

share(EPS), and dividends per share(DPS), you can plug them into the equation.

The previous years DPS is used to multiply with your Ke, or cost of equity

percentage, to give you DRIP then Cumulative earnings are obtained by adding

this DRIP to your current year’s EPS. The normal income is then subtracted from

your found cumulative earnings giving you AEG. The present value factor is

needed to find the proper discount rate to discount your future forecasted AEG’s

back to the present. Once all PV of AEG’s are summed then you can take your PV

of the perpetuity and add them together along with your core EPS, and this

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number gives you your intrinsic value estimation for Abnormal Earnings. In

doing this we got a value of $49.33 which causes the firm to be Under-valued in

our estimation.

The above represents our sensitivity analysis as it relates to this model. Unlike

the previous models, this model give us values of Ke (2.5%, 5%, and 11%) and

various growth rates that will cause the firm to be Under-valued as compared to

the Current Market Price of $36.13.

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Altman’s Z-Score

Altman’s Z-scores 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

1.66 1.84 2.08 2.42 1.45

The Altman’s Z-score for Hilton Hotels Corporation shows their credit risk.

By having a Z-score below 1.8 throws a red flag and tells analyst that a company

may be heading towards bankruptcy. Since Hilton is an asset based corporation

you can assume the low Z-score can be explained by its large amounts of debt.

The most recent drop from 2005 and 2006 was due to a large asset purchase of

Hilton International where Hilton Hotels Corp. issued a large amount of debt. I

would expect that this Altman Z-score will not have much change in the positive

direction in the near future because of Hilton’s future plans to purchase up to 50

luxury hotels by 2010.

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Analyst Recommendation As analyst we have performed in-depth evaluations and calculations of Hilton

Hotels Corporation as a firm. With this analysis we were able to use different

valuation models to calculate estimated intrinsic value. Our actual price of Hilton

Hotels Corp (HLT:NYSE) as of April 21, 2007, was $36.13 at day closing and had

a 52 week range of $23.19-$38.00. The valuation models showed estimated

values of $3.04 in the Discounting Dividend model, $15.79 for the Free Cash

Flows, $20.85 for the Residual Income and, $49.33 for the Abnormal Earnings

Growth model. The average estimated intrinsic value of Hilton using all of the

valuation models is $22.25, and the estimated intrinsic value of the residual

income valuation model, the most reliable model, is $20.85. If the low estimate

of the Discounted Dividend model and the high estimate of the Abnormal

Earnings Growth model are implied to be outliers and taken out, the average

value is $18.32. With both the averages, with and without the outliers, and the

most reliable intrinsic values being below the actual price, as well as the 52 week

price range, this tells us to believe Hilton is slightly overvalued. Since all of our

valuation models were relatively close estimates within each other as well as

compared to the actual price per share, we can conclude that they are accurate.

With the calculations showing us a distinct overvaluation of Hilton in almost all

valuation models, we recommend no purchase of Hilton stock and to utilize the

opportunity to sell.

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References 1.) http://hiltonworldwide.hilton.com/en/ww/company_info/company_info.jhtml;jsessionid=0EKBNUX2I4SKYCSGBIW2VCQKIYFCVUUC 2.) http://www.morningstar.com 3.) http://www.finance.yahoo.com 4.) http://www.hilton.com (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 10-K) 5.) http://hsc.csu.edu.au/economics

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Appendix 1 (Financials, Ratios, and Valuation Models) Ratios

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Common Size Income Statement

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Common Size Cash Flows

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Common Size Balance Sheet

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Common Size Balance Sheet cont.

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Avg. Actual Common Size

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Discounted Cash Flows Model

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Discounted Dividends Model

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Residual Income Model

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Abnormal Earnings Model

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Appendix 2 Regression Data

3 month Regression Analysis months Beta Adj. R^2 Ke

72 1.1052 0.2245 0.1093 60 0.8889 0.1714 0.0963 48 1.0876 0.1361 0.1083 36 1.5152 0.1949 0.1339 24 1.8622 0.2091 0.1547

1 year Regression Analysis months Beta Adj. R^2 Ke

72 1.1043 0.2241 0.0863 60 0.8878 0.1711 0.0776 48 1.0874 0.1364 0.0856 36 1.5148 0.1953 0.1027 24 1.8604 0.2094 0.1165

7 year Regression Analysis months Beta Adj. R^2 Ke

72 1.1013 0.2234 0.1053 60 0.8874 0.1716 0.0925 48 1.0973 0.1371 0.1051 36 1.4980 0.1930 0.1291 24 1.8502 0.2089 0.1503

5 year Regression Analysis months Beta Adj. R^2 Ke

72 1.1011 0.2233 0.0943 60 0.8870 0.1714 0.0836 48 1.0949 0.1370 0.0940 36 1.5016 0.1936 0.1143 24 1.8516 0.2090 0.1318

10 year Regression Analysis months Beta Adj. R^2 Ke

72 1.1023 0.2236 0.1165 60 0.8882 0.1719 0.1015 48 1.0993 0.1372 0.1163 36 1.4947 0.1924 0.1440 24 1.8492 0.2088 0.1688

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Return Series

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Return Series cont.

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3 month

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1 year

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5 year

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7 Year

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10 Year

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