Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Short Interest Up 8.8% in January

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 38,690,000 shares, an increase of 8.8% from the December 31st total of 35,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,860,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days. Approximately 5.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 24,404 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 74,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 81,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Compass Point raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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 research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.96.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HST opened at $16.49 on Tuesday. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 52 week low of $15.71 and a 52 week high of $21.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 2.90. The company’s fifty day moving average is $17.76 and its 200-day moving average is $17.55. The company has a market capitalization of $11.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 1.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.24). Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.85%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.67%.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

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.