Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.54.

HST has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.1% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 606,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,668,000 after buying an additional 113,761 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 123.4% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 65,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 36,278 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the third quarter worth approximately $540,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the third quarter worth approximately $4,775,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the third quarter worth approximately $639,000. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ:HST opened at $16.34 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 2.90. Host Hotels & Resorts has a fifty-two week low of $15.71 and a fifty-two week high of $21.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.49. The stock has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 1.30.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.29. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 12.26%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.90%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.81%.

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.