Brokerages Set Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Price Target at $20.54

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $20.54.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on HST shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HST. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 626.1% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after acquiring an additional 9,223 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 50.5% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1,549.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,410,000 after buying an additional 12,863 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 21.9% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 86,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 15,517 shares during the period. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 5.5% in the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 468,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,240,000 after acquiring an additional 24,400 shares in the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of HST opened at $16.13 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.47. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 52-week low of $15.71 and a 52-week high of $21.31. The company has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.30.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its 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. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.96%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.