Host Hotels & Resorts Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:HST)

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 2,608 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 497% compared to the average daily volume of 437 put options.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ HST opened at $19.33 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $20.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 3.29 and a quick ratio of 3.29. Host Hotels & Resorts has a one year low of $14.92 and a one year high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 13.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is 76.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total transaction of $591,981.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,225,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,826,140.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Host Hotels & Resorts

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HST. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,275,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $807,923,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,578 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at about $615,558,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 310,079 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 438,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 164,334 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HST shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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 boosted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.33.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

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.