Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.70.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HST shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Up 1.2%

Host Hotels & Resorts stock opened at $25.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 1-year low of $15.61 and a 1-year high of $25.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.09.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 16.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Host Hotels & Resorts has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.180 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 2.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.33%.

Insider Transactions at Host Hotels & Resorts

In related news, EVP Nathan Tyrrell sold 63,882 shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.13, for a total transaction of $1,477,590.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 618,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,299,127.91. This trade represents a 9.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,932,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 32.9% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 341,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,646,000 after purchasing an additional 84,446 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 9.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 190,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,272,000 after purchasing an additional 17,129 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 9.9% in the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 137,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 12,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.5% in the third quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 49,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust that owns and operates a portfolio of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. The company’s properties are generally located in high-demand business and leisure destinations and include full-service hotels, resorts and convention-oriented lodging facilities.

Host Hotels typically invests in hotel real estate while relying on hotel management companies and major hospitality brands to operate its properties.