Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Price Target Cut to $20.00

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) had its price objective decreased by UBS Group from $21.00 to $20.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on HST. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $21.33.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of HST stock opened at $19.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.29. Host Hotels & Resorts has a twelve month low of $14.92 and a twelve month high of $21.31. The company has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.25). Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 13.93% and a return on equity of 10.82%. 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 previous year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Host Hotels & Resorts

In other news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total transaction of $591,981.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,225,577 shares in the company, valued at $46,826,140.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,873,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 18.7% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 3,182 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.8% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 97,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,601 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.0% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,460,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,478,000 after purchasing an additional 42,446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at about $587,000. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

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.