Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (HST) Stock Price & How to Invest

Host Hotels & Resorts owns 75 hotels, 70 in the United States and five abroad, covering roughly ~41,300 rooms in the luxury and upper upscale tiers. The properties fly flags such as Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt, Hilton and Four Seasons, and third party managers run day to day operations while Host supplies the buildings, the capital and the renovation decisions. Because these are big convention and resort hotels, rooms are only part of the income: second quarter comparable total RevPAR of ~$417.58 against room RevPAR of ~$251.53 means food, beverage, banquets and other services generate close to ~40% of revenue. Trailing twelve month revenue is ~$6.23 billion, and the structure is a REIT, so most taxable income has to go out as distributions.

The 2026 investment picture is a cyclical recovery being harvested rather than a growth story. Comparable RevPAR rose ~7% in the second quarter, hotel EBITDA margin widened ~60 basis points to ~31.9%, and management lifted full year RevPAR guidance to ~4.75% to ~5.25% growth alongside adjusted FFO of ~$2.15 to ~$2.18 per share. Host has been a net seller, taking ~$1.1 billion for the Four Seasons resorts in Orlando and Jackson Hole in February 2026 and returning ~$500 million of the taxable gain through a ~$0.72 special dividend in July. That leaves a company with ~$1.95 billion of cash, no 2026 maturities and an unusually low ~2.2x leverage for the sector, and it also leaves an investor deciding how much of the recovery, including a World Cup boost worth roughly ~160 basis points of second quarter RevPAR, is already in the numbers.

Lodging reprices every single night, which makes it the most economically sensitive form of real estate, and a downturn reaches Host's income statement in weeks instead of at lease renewal. The 2026 figures also set a hard comparison for 2027, since the World Cup contributed roughly ~160 basis points to second quarter RevPAR and Maui's rebound cannot repeat at that pace forever. Ownership is capital hungry, with ~$550 million to ~$630 million of annual capex against ~$6.23 billion of revenue, and Hawaii storm damage alone was put at ~$27 million to ~$32 million before insurance recoveries. Host does not operate its hotels, so margins depend in part on Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton managers and on labour costs the company does not set directly. Distribution policy is the other variable: the regular payout is ~$0.20 a quarter, and the eye catching yields come from special dividends funded by asset sales, which are discretionary and by definition do not recur.

20 analysts publish price targets on HST, averaging $25.12 against a $22.90 price as of August 2026, or +9.7%. The published targets run from $21.00 to $29.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 12 buy, 9 hold, 0 sell. Over the last six months there have been 12 raises and 0 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full HST forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Rate led RevPAR growth in luxury and resort hotels. Comparable hotel RevPAR reached ~$251.53 in the second quarter of 2026, up ~7%, while comparable total RevPAR of ~$417.58 rose ~5.9% as banquet and outlet spending followed the room rate higher. The most optimistic published target, $29.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. Lodging reprices every single night, which makes it the most economically sensitive form of real estate, and a downturn reaches Host's income statement in weeks instead of at lease renewal. The most pessimistic target, $21.00, is roughly what HST is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on HST, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$6.23B
• Adjusted FFO per share (2026 guidance): ~$2.15 to ~$2.18
• Adjusted EBITDAre (2026 guidance): ~$1.82B to ~$1.84B
• Enterprise value / EBITDA: ~11.6x trailing, ~10.7x on guidance
• Net debt and leverage: ~$3.7B net debt, about ~2.2x
• Dividend: ~$0.20 per quarter regular (~3.5%), plus a ~$0.72 special paid July 2026

Host guides to ~$2.15 to ~$2.18 of adjusted FFO per share for 2026 and ~$1.82 billion to ~$1.84 billion of adjusted EBITDAre, which places a ~$22.90 share price near ~10.5x FFO. Trailing net income of ~$1.03 billion and the resulting ~15x reported P/E are inflated by roughly ~$242 million of gains on hotel sales, so FFO and EBITDA multiples describe the operating business more honestly. Enterprise value of about ~$19.6 billion works out near ~11.6x trailing EBITDA and closer to ~10.7x the guided number.

If you want HST exposure as part of a larger bundle rather than directly, these ETFs hold it meaningfully. Weights are approximate and refresh quarterly.

Other names that sit close to HST: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get HST exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it (SPYD), which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so HST sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where HST fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

Host is a cyclical owner of trophy real estate whose 2026 operating numbers are improving and whose headline payout swings with asset sales, so the multiple mostly encodes a view on where the lodging cycle sits.

Whether HST is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is HST a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the HST stock forecast.

For income investors, whether HST pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does HST pay a dividend? And to weigh HST against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: HST vs PK and HST vs AAPL.