Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $14.24 and last traded at $14.32, with a volume of 1453559 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $14.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on HST. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Compass Point lowered Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.54.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 1.8 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $16.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $9.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 1.30.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.29. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 12.26%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is currently 80.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,243,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,056,000 after purchasing an additional 950,431 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 50,002,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,115,000 after acquiring an additional 3,932,928 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $807,878,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 37,047,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,076,000 after purchasing an additional 643,450 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,555,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,171,000 after purchasing an additional 4,460,468 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

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.