Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Downgraded by Compass Point to Neutral

Compass Point lowered shares of Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $18.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $20.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James cut 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. UBS Group cut 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.21.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of HST stock opened at $15.11 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 12 month low of $15.00 and a 12 month high of $21.27.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. Analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 24,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 12,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 16,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 74,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.