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

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.19.

HST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Compass Point raised Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

HST opened at $17.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.69. 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 has a market cap of $12.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 1.32. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 1 year low of $15.71 and a 1 year high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.24). The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is 77.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HST. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 50.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the third quarter worth $90,000. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is an S&P 500 company and is the largest lodging real estate investment trust and one of the largest owners of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. The Company currently owns 72 properties in the United States and five properties internationally totaling approximately 42,000 rooms.