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

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.54.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HST. Raymond James decreased their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Compass Point cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock opened at $14.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 12-month low of $14.25 and a 12-month high of $20.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.13 and its 200-day moving average is $17.24.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. Equities analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.51%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HST. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $807,878,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 184.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,752,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,855,000 after buying an additional 6,326,709 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 537.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,893,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,318,000 after buying an additional 5,811,722 shares during the period. Rush Island Management LP bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter worth $99,402,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,637,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,017,000 after acquiring an additional 5,466,629 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.