Investors Buy Large Volume of Host Hotels & Resorts Put Options (NASDAQ:HST)

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 2,608 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 497% compared to the typical volume of 437 put options.

Insider Activity at Host Hotels & Resorts

In related news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $591,981.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,225,577 shares in the company, valued at $46,826,140.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,567,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.8% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 15,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 82,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 21,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the period. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 16.3% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 4,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of HST opened at $19.29 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 12-month low of $14.92 and a 12-month high of $21.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.88.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.25). Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 13.93% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HST. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Bank of America upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.33.

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.