Host Hotels & Resorts Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:HST)

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 2,511 call options on the company. This is an increase of 93% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,303 call options.

Institutional Trading of Host Hotels & Resorts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the first quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 212.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 44.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the second quarter worth about $51,000. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HST opened at $17.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 4.55. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 12 month low of $15.71 and a 12 month high of $21.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.71.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.21.

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.