Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Short Interest Update

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 38,690,000 shares, a growth of 8.8% from the December 15th total of 35,570,000 shares. Currently, 5.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 6,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group decreased 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Compass Point raised Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $18.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.04.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 0.1 %

Host Hotels & Resorts stock opened at $17.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.31. Host Hotels & Resorts has a fifty-two week low of $15.71 and a fifty-two week high of $21.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 2.90.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is 77.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 44.5% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 50.5% during 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. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

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.