Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Upgraded by Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight Rating

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) was upgraded by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $15.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $16.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 2.11% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Compass Point lowered shares of 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 report on Monday, March 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Host Hotels & Resorts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.54.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HST opened at $14.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.32 and a 200 day moving average of $17.30. 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 52 week low of $14.25 and a 52 week high of $20.98. The company has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.30.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.29. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 193.3% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 47,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 31,261 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the third quarter worth about $336,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 11.6% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,929 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the third quarter worth about $482,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,300,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,296,000 after acquiring an additional 181,103 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.