Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST)

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 8,043 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 249% compared to the typical volume of 2,303 call options.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of HST opened at $16.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a current ratio of 2.08. Host Hotels & Resorts has a one year low of $12.22 and a one year high of $19.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.69.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.11% and a net margin of 11.66%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.94%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 185,200.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 202.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 696.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 2,047 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 348.1% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,845 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HST has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $16.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $17.96.

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.