Zacks Research Comments on Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.’s FY2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:HST)

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research report issued on Wednesday, May 22nd. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the company will earn $1.99 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $1.94. The consensus estimate for Host Hotels & Resorts’ current full-year earnings is $2.01 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Host Hotels & Resorts’ Q4 2024 earnings at $0.47 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.53 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.49 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $0.52 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on HST. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.29.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

HST opened at $18.41 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.52 and a 200-day moving average of $19.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.32. Host Hotels & Resorts has a 12-month low of $14.92 and a 12-month high of $21.31. The company has a quick ratio of 6.66, a current ratio of 6.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 10.59%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.44 EPS.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 3,896 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.64, for a total transaction of $72,621.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 64,457 shares in the company, valued at $1,201,478.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Host Hotels & Resorts news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $591,981.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,225,577 shares in the company, valued at $46,826,140.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 3,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.64, for a total transaction of $72,621.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 64,457 shares in the company, valued at $1,201,478.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Host Hotels & Resorts

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HST. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,275,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $807,923,000 after buying an additional 6,719,578 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at $615,558,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 22,313,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,576,000 after buying an additional 310,079 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,142,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,128,000 after buying an additional 438,014 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,800,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,807,000 after buying an additional 164,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

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.