Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.54.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HST. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ HST opened at $16.13 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.47. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 52 week low of $15.71 and a 52 week high of $21.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.96%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is currently 80.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 202.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. 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.