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

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.21.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of HST opened at $17.26 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.72 and its 200 day moving average is $17.71. The company has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.32. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 12-month low of $15.71 and a 12-month high of $21.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 4.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is 77.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 950,431 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,637,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,017,000 after acquiring an additional 5,466,629 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,300,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,296,000 after acquiring an additional 181,103 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,189,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,218,000 after acquiring an additional 965,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 7,962,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,169,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,458 shares in the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.