Head to Head Analysis: Braemar Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:BHR) & Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST)

Braemar Hotels & Resorts (NYSE:BHR) and Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Braemar Hotels & Resorts and Host Hotels & Resorts, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Braemar Hotels & Resorts	0	2	0	0	2.00
Host Hotels & Resorts	1	3	11	0	2.67

Braemar Hotels & Resorts presently has a consensus target price of $2.50, suggesting a potential upside of 24.38%. Host Hotels & Resorts has a consensus target price of $21.20, suggesting a potential upside of 2.51%. Given Braemar Hotels & Resorts’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Braemar Hotels & Resorts is more favorable than Host Hotels & Resorts.

Volatility & Risk

Braemar Hotels & Resorts has a beta of 2.2, indicating that its share price is 120% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Host Hotels & Resorts has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Braemar Hotels & Resorts pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.0%. Host Hotels & Resorts pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Braemar Hotels & Resorts pays out -17.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Host Hotels & Resorts pays out 76.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Host Hotels & Resorts has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Braemar Hotels & Resorts is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Braemar Hotels & Resorts and Host Hotels & Resorts’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Braemar Hotels & Resorts	$739.34 million	0.18	-$27.02 million	($1.12)	-1.79
Host Hotels & Resorts	$5.31 billion	2.74	$740.00 million	$1.04	19.88

Host Hotels & Resorts has higher revenue and earnings than Braemar Hotels & Resorts. Braemar Hotels & Resorts is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Host Hotels & Resorts, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

64.8% of Braemar Hotels & Resorts shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.5% of Host Hotels & Resorts shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Braemar Hotels & Resorts shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Host Hotels & Resorts shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Braemar Hotels & Resorts and Host Hotels & Resorts’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Braemar Hotels & Resorts	-3.65%	-7.91%	-1.18%
Host Hotels & Resorts	13.93%	10.82%	6.03%

Summary

Host Hotels & Resorts beats Braemar Hotels & Resorts on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Braemar Hotels & Resorts

Braemar Hotels & Resorts is a conservatively capitalized REIT that invests primarily in high RevPAR, full-service luxury hotels and resorts. We are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BHR and are externally-advised by Ashford (NYSE American: AINC).

About Host Hotels & Resorts

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. The Company also holds non-controlling interests in seven domestic and one international joint ventures. Guided by a disciplined approach to capital allocation and aggressive asset management, the Company partners with premium brands such as Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Westin, Sheraton, W, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Hyatt, Fairmont, Hilton, Four Seasons, Swissôtel, ibis and Novotel, as well as independent brands.