Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on HST. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Compass Point raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a report on Friday, July 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Host Hotels & Resorts currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.21.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HST opened at $17.26 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.69. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 1-year low of $15.71 and a 1-year high of $21.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 4.55. The company has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.24). Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Host Hotels & Resorts

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 645.5% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 64,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 55,775 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,888,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,037,000 after buying an additional 84,687 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 9.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 644,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,344,000 after acquiring an additional 55,654 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.9% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 204,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,224,000 after acquiring an additional 39,340 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 854.3% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 319,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,750,000 after acquiring an additional 286,281 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.