Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on HST. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.27.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

HST opened at $24.50 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 7.91 and a quick ratio of 7.91. The company has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.09. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 1-year low of $15.11 and a 1-year high of $25.41.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.31. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 16.40%.The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Host Hotels & Resorts has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.16 EPS. Research analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 54.42%.

Insider Transactions at Host Hotels & Resorts

In other news, EVP Nathan S. Tyrrell sold 15,569 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total value of $358,087.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 682,089 shares in the company, valued at $15,688,047. This represents a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tema ETFs LLC increased its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 13,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,305 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 4.1% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 181,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,299,000 after purchasing an additional 7,118 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 8.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 40,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $950,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 5.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 18,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 75.3% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 167,691 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after buying an additional 72,043 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

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.