Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 35,570,000 shares, a decline of 9.0% from the November 30th total of 39,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days. Approximately 5.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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 lowered their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Compass Point upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.39.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HST traded down $0.26 on Wednesday, reaching $17.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,422,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,839,865. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.70. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 52-week low of $15.71 and a 52-week high of $21.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 2.90. The company has a market cap of $12.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01 and a beta of 1.32.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Host Hotels & Resorts’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is 77.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 6,611 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the third quarter valued at approximately $182,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 4,870 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 6.7% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 37,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 2,376 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.1% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 353,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,223,000 after purchasing an additional 3,827 shares in the last quarter. 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 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.