Short Interest in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Expands By 8.8%

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 38,690,000 shares, an increase of 8.8% from the December 15th total of 35,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days. Approximately 5.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HST. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Compass Point upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $18.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.04.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HST. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 537.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,893,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,318,000 after acquiring an additional 5,811,722 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 66.9% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,637,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,017,000 after purchasing an additional 5,466,629 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 207.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,198,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,692,000 after buying an additional 1,484,370 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 92.9% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,764,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,652,000 after buying an additional 1,331,407 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,243,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,056,000 after buying an additional 950,431 shares in the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of HST stock opened at $17.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.31. Host Hotels & Resorts has a one year low of $15.71 and a one year high of $21.31. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 2.90.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 12.92%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.67%.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the management of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Brazil, and Canada. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.