Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 42,240,000 shares, an increase of 11.7% from the October 31st total of 37,800,000 shares. Approximately 6.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 7,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HST. Compass Point raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Host Hotels & Resorts has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.32.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ HST opened at $18.52 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 52 week low of $15.71 and a 52 week high of $21.31. The firm has a market cap of $12.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.66.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.24). Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HST. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 537.4% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,893,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,318,000 after purchasing an additional 5,811,722 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 66.9% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,637,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,017,000 after acquiring an additional 5,466,629 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 207.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,198,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,692,000 after buying an additional 1,484,370 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 7,962,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 92.9% during the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,764,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331,407 shares in the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.