Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Short Interest Update

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 38,690,000 shares, an increase of 8.8% from the December 31st total of 35,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,860,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days. Currently, 5.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 94.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 44.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.96.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 1.3 %

HST opened at $16.49 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.55. The company has a market cap of $11.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 1.31. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 1 year low of $15.71 and a 1 year high of $21.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 2.90.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.67%.

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.