Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.90.

A number of analysts recently commented on HST shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James lowered 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. Compass Point lowered shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $20.00 to $14.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Institutional Trading of Host Hotels & Resorts

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter worth $375,000. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter worth $1,457,000. Vert Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 309,446 shares of the company's stock worth $5,421,000 after buying an additional 26,678 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 716.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,841 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 2,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 155.2% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,610,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,305,000 after buying an additional 3,412,589 shares in the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HST traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $15.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,309,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,104,818. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $14.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.35. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 12-month low of $12.22 and a 12-month high of $19.37.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio is presently 83.33%.

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.