Host Hotels Stock Rises 9.8% in a Month: Will the Trend Last?

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. HST have gained 9.8% in the past month against the industry’s fall of 0.6%.

With a solid portfolio of upscale hotels with strong demand drivers, Host Hotels is likely to witness RevPAR growth. Also, a strategic capital-recycling program and a healthy balance sheet augur well.

Analysts seem positive on this lodging REIT, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its 2025 FFO per share has been revised a cent northward to $2.05 over the past month.

Let us decipher the possible factors behind the surge in the stock price.

Host Hotels has a strong Sunbelt exposure and presence in the top 21 U.S. markets. The improvement in group and transient demand, including leisure and resort, has aided occupancy and RevPAR growth over the past few quarters. In 2025, the company expects comparable hotel RevPAR growth of approximately 3%.

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 nine months of 2025, the company incurred $454 million in capital expenditure. For 2025, management expects total capital expenditures to be within $605-$640 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 November 2025 Investor Presentation, from 2021 through Nov. 5, 2025, total dispositions amounted to $1.8 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 Sept. 30, 2025, the company had $2.2 billion in total available liquidity. Moreover, it is the only company with an investment-grade rating among the lodging REITs, having ratings of Baa2/Stable 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. This month, the company announced a special dividend of 15 cents per share. This is in addition to a quarterly cash dividend of 20 cents per share. The total dividend will be paid out on Jan. 15, 2026, to shareholders of record as of Dec. 31, 2025. HST has increased its dividend nine 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.

With the factors mentioned above, the positive trend in the stock is expected to continue in the near term.

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.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks from the broader REIT sector are Cousins Properties CUZ and W.P. Carey WPC, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CUZ’s 2025 FFO per share has moved a cent northward to $2.84 over the past month.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WPC’s 2025 FFO per share has moved 2 cents upward to $4.94 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.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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