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What's in Store for Host Hotels (HST) This Earnings Season?

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Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (HST - Free Report) is scheduled to release third-quarter 2022 earnings on Nov 2, after market close. HST’s quarterly results will likely highlight year-over-year growth in revenues and funds from operations (FFO) per share.

In the previous quarter, the Bethesda, MD-based lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) delivered a surprise of 18.37% in terms of adjusted FFO per share. Results reflect better-than-anticipated top-line growth, mainly driven by leisure travel with strong rates at resort properties. Additionally, urban markets witnessed an increase in group demand sequentially.

Over the trailing four quarters, Host Hotels’ adjusted FFO per share surpassed estimates on all occasions, the average beat being 48.12%. The graph below depicts this surprise history:

Factors at Play

With the pandemic’s impact waning, lodging REITs like Host Hotels (HST - Free Report) are experiencing a rise in demand for their properties. Also, business transient and group demand in the urban markets have been improving on the back of return-to-office policies implemented by companies.

Host Hotels’ well-located properties in markets with strong demand drivers like central business districts of main cities, close to airports and in resort/conference destinations are likely to have benefited from this positive trend in the third quarter.

Also, the continued strength in the Sunbelt markets, where the company has a strong presence, is anticipated to have driven the demand for its properties.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RevPAR stands at $191.6, indicating a jump of 92.2% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure of $99.7. The same for average occupancy rate is pegged at 72%, suggesting a considerable improvement from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure of 42.1%.

HST’s capital-recycling efforts are anticipated to have aided the company’s acquisition and development activities during the quarter. Further, these efforts are likely to have relieved the pressure on its balance sheet.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HST’s third-quarter revenues is presently pegged at $1.17 billion, implying growth of 38.5% from the prior-year period’s reported figure of $844 million.

However, seasonality and changing market and business mix might have limited the company’s growth tempo to a certain extent during the quarter.

Host Hotels’ activities during the third quarter were not adequate to gain analysts’ confidence. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the FFO per share has been revised 2.5% downward over the past week to 39 cents. Nonetheless, on a year-over-year basis, it indicates a whopping jump of 95%.

Earning Whispers

Host Hotels has the right combination of the two key ingredients — a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or higher — for increasing the odds of a beat.

Earnings ESP: Host Hotels has an Earnings ESP of +0.71%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Host Hotels currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Other Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are some other stocks that are worth considering from the REIT sector, as our model shows that these, too, have the right combination of elements to deliver a surprise this reporting cycle:

Public Storage (PSA - Free Report) is slated to report quarterly numbers on Nov 1. PSA has an Earnings ESP of +1.34% and carries a Zacks Rank of 3.

Extra Space Storage (EXR - Free Report) is scheduled to report quarterly figures on Nov 1. EXR has an Earnings ESP of +1.31% and a Zacks Rank of 3 presently.

Douglas Emmett (DEI - Free Report) is scheduled to report quarterly figures on Nov 3. DEI has an Earnings ESP of +0.65% and a Zacks Rank of 3 currently.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represent funds from operations (FFO) — a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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