Brokerages Set Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Target Price at $20.96

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $20.96.

HST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Compass Point upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

HST opened at $16.71 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.56. Host Hotels & Resorts has a twelve month low of $15.71 and a twelve month high of $21.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 1.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 44.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.