Analysts Set Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Price Target at $21.19

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.04.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HST. Compass Point upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group decreased 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 research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd.

Institutional Trading of Host Hotels & Resorts

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 537.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,893,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,318,000 after purchasing an additional 5,811,722 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,637,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,017,000 after acquiring an additional 5,466,629 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 207.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,198,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484,370 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 7,962,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,169,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 92.9% during the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,764,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,331,407 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Host Hotels & Resorts stock opened at $17.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.92 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55 and a beta of 1.31. Host Hotels & Resorts has a one year low of $15.71 and a one year high of $21.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 2.90.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Host Hotels & Resorts’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.67%.

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.