Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $17.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Host Hotels & Resorts traded as low as $14.25 and last traded at $14.40, with a volume of 2556017 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.96.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on HST. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Friday. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Compass Point downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.54.

Institutional Trading of Host Hotels & Resorts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. National Pension Service bought a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 202.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 1.91. The firm has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.30.

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 analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 12.26%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.45%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.81%.

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.