Brokerages Set Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Price Target at $21.19

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.04.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HST. StockNews.com lowered Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in 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 valued at $10,668,000 after buying an additional 113,761 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 36,278 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the third quarter valued at about $540,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 5.4% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 637,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,351,000 after purchasing an additional 32,586 shares during the period. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 258,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,651,000 after purchasing an additional 34,977 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 0.5 %

HST opened at $16.96 on Friday. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 1-year low of $15.71 and a 1-year high of $21.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.66.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly 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). Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.72%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.67%.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

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.