Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. HST have gained 9.8% in the past three months compared with the industry’s rise of 1.7%.
With a solid portfolio of upscale hotels across lucrative markets, Host Hotels is likely to witness RevPAR growth. Also, a strategic capital-recycling program and a healthy balance sheet augur well.
Last July, HST reported second-quarter adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) per share of 58 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents. The figure increased 1.8% from the prior-year quarter. Results reflected higher revenues, driven by year-over-year comparable hotel revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth.
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Factors Behind HST Share Price Rise
Host Hotels has a strong Sunbelt exposure and presence in the top 21 U.S. markets. The improvement in group travel demand and business transient demand — led by the healthy demand from small and medium-sized businesses — has aided occupancy and RevPAR growth over the past few quarters. In 2025, the company expects comparable hotel RevPAR growth between 1.5% and 2.5%.
Host Hotels undertakes strategic capital allocations to improve the portfolio quality and strengthen its position in the United States, where it has a greater scale and competitive advantage. In the first six months of 2025, the company incurred $298 million in capital expenditure. For 2025, management expects total capital expenditures to be within $590-$660 million.
The company disposes of non-strategic assets with lower growth potential or properties with significant capital expenditure requirements through its capital-recycling program. It redeploys the proceeds to invest in premium properties in markets expected to recover faster. Per the company’s July 2025 Investor Presentation, from 2021 through July 20, 2025, total dispositions amounted to $1.6 billion. Its acquisitions during this period amounted to $3.3 billion. Such efforts highlight its prudent capital-management practices, preserve balance sheet strength and pave the way to capitalize on long-term growth opportunities.
Host Hotels has a healthy balance sheet. The company has been taking steps to fortify its balance sheet. As of June 30, 2025, the company had $2.3 billion in total available liquidity. As of the same date, the weighted average debt maturity was 5.4 years and the weighted average interest rate was 4.9%. Moreover, it is the only company with an investment-grade rating among the lodging REITs, having ratings of Baa3/Positive from Moody’s, BBB-/Stable from S&P Global and BBB/Stable from Fitch. This renders access to the debt market at favorable costs.
Solid dividend payouts are a massive enticement for REIT investors and Host Hotels has remained committed to that. HST has increased its dividend eight times over the last five years and has a 40% payout ratio. Such efforts boost investors’ confidence in the stock. Check out Host Hotels & Resorts’ dividend history here.
Analysts seem positive on this lodging REIT, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 FFO per share has been revised northward by 2.6% to $1.97 over the past month.
Risks Likely to Affect HST’s Positive Trend
Macroeconomic uncertainty and a cautious approach by many businesses are likely to hurt demand for its properties in the near term. The competitive landscape and elevated interest expenses are other concerns.
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are VICI Properties VICI and Terreno Realty (TRNO), each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VICI’s 2025 FFO per share has moved 1 cent northward to $2.39 over the past week.
The consensus estimate for TRNO’s 2025 FFO per share has been revised 1 cent upward to $2.61 over the past month.
Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.
5 Stocks Set to Double
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Download Atomic Opportunity: Nuclear Energy's Comeback free today.Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (HST) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Terreno Realty Corporation (TRNO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
VICI Properties Inc. (VICI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
