Host hotels and resorts HST owns a diversified portfolio of luxury and upscale hotels in major urban and resort markets, supporting growth through leisure, group and business travel. Analysts appear to be bullish on the Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock. The trend in 2026 adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) estimate revisions points to a favorable outlook, with estimates moving higher over the past month. Host Hotels shares have gained 15.1% over the past six months, outpacing the industry’s 2.8% gain. Given the strong fundamentals and positive estimate revisions, the stock is likely to maintain its momentum in the coming quarters. Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research What makes host hotels a reliable choice? Demand Visibility: Host Hotels benefits from a diverse mix of city, resort and convention properties in 21 of the largest U.S. markets, supporting leisure, group and business demand. In the second quarter of 2026, transit room revenue increased 6.9% and group room revenue grew 7.4% as both rates and room nights increased. Group room nights booked for 2026 reached 3.8 million, up 8% from the first quarter of 2026, and the overall group revenue rate was more than 5% higher than last year. In the second quarter of 2026, comparable hotel revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased 7% year-over-year, and total comparable hotel revenue increased 5.9%. Management raised its 2026 comparable hotel RevPAR and overall RevPAR guidance to 4.75% to 5.25% and expects mid-single-digit RevPAR growth through the end of the year. With new supply in host hotel markets and chain scales near historical lows, demand patterns should support continued rate-driven growth following event-driven periods. Incremental capital reuse: Host hotels continue to sell assets with low growth rates and increased capital needs and reallocate capital to higher quality hotels and reinvest the portfolio. In the second quarter of 2026, Host Hotels sold the Sheraton Parsippany Hotel for $12 million. From 2021 to 2026, sales were $2.9 billion at 16.5x EBITDA, compared to $3.3 billion in acquisitions at 13.3x. During this period, Host Hotels sold 17 assets and avoided approximately $710 million in short-term capital expenditures while acquiring 12 fee-for-service assets in six new markets without any discernible short-term capital requirements. This discipline, combined with host hotels’ liquidity and all-cash purchasing power, should maintain the flexibility to pursue opportunities without compromising profitability standards. Balance flexibility: Host hotels maintain an investment-grade balance sheet that provides the ability to reinvest and return capital. As of June 30, 2026, total debt was approximately $5.1 billion with a weighted average maturity of 4.7 years and a weighted average interest rate of 4.8%. The company had no debt maturing in 2026. Adjusted for the payment of regular and special dividends of $630 million in July 2026, total available liquidity was approximately $3 billion. Net leverage under the credit facility was 2.2x after the July 2026 dividend. The consolidated portfolio remained 99% unencumbered. This liquidity profile should allow Host Hotels to fund its 2026 capital program while maintaining the ability to make acquisitions, pay dividends and share repurchases. Return of capital through dividends: Host hotels continue to return capital through regular and special dividends. In July 2026, the company paid a regular quarterly dividend of 20 cents per share and a special dividend of 72 cents per share, tied to taxable gain from the sale of Four Seasons. Since re-introducing dividends in 2022, Host Hotels has paid out approximately $3.1 billion in dividends through July 2026. Taken together, these dividends demonstrate the company’s continued commitment to returning excess capital to shareholders. Other stocks to consider Some Other Top-Rated Stocks from the Broader REIT Sector Digital Real Estate Trust DLR and Weltauer WELL, each of them currently has a Zacks Rank #2. You can see See the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DLR’s 2026 FFO per share is pegged at $8.40. This indicates a year-on-year growth of 13.67%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WELL’s 2026 FFO per share is pegged at $6.42. This suggests year-over-year growth of 21.36%. Note. Everything related to earnings presented in this article represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to evaluate the performance of Rates. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today you can download the 7 best stocks for the next 30 days. Click to get this free report Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (HST): Free Stock Analysis Report Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (DLR): Free Stock Analysis Report Welltower Inc. (WELL): Free Stock Analysis Report This article was originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research Post navigation Miami airport crash disrupts Labor Day travel from Texas Why United Airlines Suspended This 15-Hour Major Long-Haul Route [Map]