Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $17.8750.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $19.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock opened at $16.02 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $15.97. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 12-month low of $12.22 and a 12-month high of $19.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $11.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 1.36.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 9.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 953.5% in the 2nd quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,516 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

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.