Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday. The company traded as high as $25.87 and last traded at $25.6780, with a volume of 290,696 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HST has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Evercore set a $26.00 target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.14.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $22.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.91. The firm has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.09.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 16.51% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Host Hotels & Resorts has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.180 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is 53.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Host Hotels & Resorts

In other news, EVP Nathan Tyrrell sold 63,882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.13, for a total transaction of $1,477,590.66. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 618,207 shares in the company, valued at $14,299,127.91. This trade represents a 9.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HST. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the second quarter valued at $2,096,191,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth $296,560,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth $295,807,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth $143,770,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 16,183.3% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,323,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,493 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust that owns and operates a portfolio of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. The company’s properties are generally located in high-demand business and leisure destinations and include full-service hotels, resorts and convention-oriented lodging facilities.

Host Hotels typically invests in hotel real estate while relying on hotel management companies and major hospitality brands to operate its properties.