Short Interest in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Rises By 12.8%

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 38,820,000 shares, an increase of 12.8% from the July 31st total of 34,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 7,320,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days. Approximately 5.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HST opened at $17.70 on Friday. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 1 year low of $14.92 and a 1 year high of $21.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 4.55 and a quick ratio of 6.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $17.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.66.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.52%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at $440,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 131.1% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 87,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 49,729 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 99,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 16,430 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,710,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,297,000 after purchasing an additional 120,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 191,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,720,000 after purchasing an additional 4,956 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on HST shares. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Friday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.50.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

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.