UBS Group Cuts Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Price Target to $20.00

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) had its price target cut by UBS Group from $21.00 to $20.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the stock.

HST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.33.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Host Hotels & Resorts stock opened at $18.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.29. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 52 week low of $14.92 and a 52 week high of $21.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $20.29 and a 200-day moving average of $18.84.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 13.93%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.28%. This is an increase from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is currently 76.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $591,981.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,225,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,826,140.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $615,558,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 15.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,275,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $807,923,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,578 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 7.1% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,154,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $956,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,590 shares during the last quarter. PGGM Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,664,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 102.1% in the first quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 5,000,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,168,000 after purchasing an additional 2,526,434 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.