Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on HST. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. 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 note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.21.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 1.1 %

HST stock opened at $17.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.76, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.32. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 1 year low of $15.71 and a 1 year high of $21.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.70. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 4.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 12.92%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HST. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 645.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 64,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 55,775 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 4.7% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 1,888,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,037,000 after purchasing an additional 84,687 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 644,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,344,000 after purchasing an additional 55,654 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 204,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,224,000 after buying an additional 39,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 854.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 319,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,750,000 after buying an additional 286,281 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

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.