Brokerages Set Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Target Price at $21.39

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.39.

Several research firms have issued reports on HST. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point raised Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HST. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 854.3% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 319,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,750,000 after purchasing an additional 286,281 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 606,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,668,000 after purchasing an additional 113,761 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 123.4% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 65,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 36,278 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 5.4% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 637,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,351,000 after buying an additional 32,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 15.6% in the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 258,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,651,000 after buying an additional 34,977 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HST opened at $18.58 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $17.97 and a 200-day moving average of $17.70. 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 has a twelve month low of $15.71 and a twelve month high of $21.31. The firm has a market cap of $12.99 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 1.32.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.24). Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 12.92%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.67%.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

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.