Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.96.

HST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Compass Point raised Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ:HST opened at $16.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $11.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.59. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 12-month low of $15.71 and a 12-month high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 606,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,668,000 after purchasing an additional 113,761 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 123.4% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 65,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 36,278 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth about $540,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth about $4,775,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth about $639,000. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

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.