Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) reached a new 52-week low on Friday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $17.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Host Hotels & Resorts traded as low as $14.25 and last traded at $14.40, with a volume of 2556017 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.96.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on HST. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Friday. UBS Group cut their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.54.

Institutional Trading of Host Hotels & Resorts

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HST. State Street Corp increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,243,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $912,056,000 after acquiring an additional 950,431 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 50,002,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $876,115,000 after purchasing an additional 3,932,928 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at $807,878,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 37,047,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $649,076,000 after purchasing an additional 643,450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,555,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,171,000 after buying an additional 4,460,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 1.8 %

The company has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 1.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $16.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.30.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. Equities analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is 80.81%.

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.