Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Reaches New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after Truist Financial lowered their price target on the stock from $20.00 to $17.00. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the stock. Host Hotels & Resorts traded as low as $14.25 and last traded at $14.40, with a volume of 2556017 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $14.96.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on HST. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Friday. Compass Point downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.54.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HST. National Pension Service bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 202.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 2.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.32.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is 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.