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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.04.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of HST opened at $17.06 on Monday. 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 has a 52 week low of $15.71 and a 52 week high of $21.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.31. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $17.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.63.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.69%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.67%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 186.5% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 52,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 33,984 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,457,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 106,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,858,000 after acquiring an additional 10,463 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 77,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during 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.