Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Declares $0.20 Quarterly Dividend

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 12th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of 0.20 per share on Tuesday, July 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th.

Host Hotels & Resorts has a dividend payout ratio of 98.8% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Equities analysts expect Host Hotels & Resorts to earn $1.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.2%.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of HST stock traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $15.22. 10,942,734 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,579,762. The company has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 1.32. The company's 50 day moving average is $14.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.97. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 1 year low of $12.22 and a 1 year high of $19.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 2.90.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 12.26%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James lowered their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $14.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HST. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 80.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 23,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 10,618 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 24.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,209,534 shares of the company's stock worth $74,027,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 6.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,879 shares of the company's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.