Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $19.38 and last traded at $19.2660, with a volume of 4496927 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Compass Point upgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. UBS Group set a $21.00 price target on Host Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Truist Financial raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.32.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $13.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $18.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.26.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.02. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 11.11%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a yield of 85.0%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 76.19%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nathan S. Tyrrell sold 9,086 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.47, for a total transaction of $167,818.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 659,841 shares in the company, valued at $12,187,263.27. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Host Hotels & Resorts

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,128,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,917,115,000 after buying an additional 383,490 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the second quarter valued at about $554,669,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,055,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,425,000 after acquiring an additional 636,983 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 9.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,021,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,734,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,879,000 after purchasing an additional 341,915 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on owning and managing premium lodging properties. The company’s portfolio predominantly comprises luxury and upper-upscale hotels and resorts operated under leading global brands. Through strategic acquisitions, dispositions and capital investments, Host Hotels & Resorts seeks to enhance long-term value by aligning property-level operating performance with broader market trends in hospitality demand.

The company’s holdings span major urban, resort and conference destinations across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.