Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (HST) revived its regular
quarterly dividend Tuesday as planned, saying it would pay a penny
per share on its common stock.
Hotel real-estate investment trusts were among the hardest hit
in the commercial real-estate sector last year, with many owners
falling behind on mortgage payments due to a slump in travel.
As the pullback in travel worsened, companies flailed for any
way to preserve capital, including cutting or suspending dividends.
Host in February 2009 announced the suspension of its regular
quarterly dividends, but shareholders did get a payout later in the
year. The suspension came two months after the company slashed its
dividend 75% to 5 cents a share.
However, the lodging sector appears to be emerging from the
worst of the decline. Last month, Host Hotels reported it swung to
a fourth-quarter loss, its fourth in a row, on weak demand and
reserves for potential litigation losses, but the loss wasn't as
bad as analysts expected. Also, revenue per available room
continued to stabilize.
Meanwhile, a number of companies in recent months have
reinstated dividends or boosted payouts as the perceived need to
hoard cash eases.
Shares in Host Hotels--which holds a portfolio including such
hotel brands as Marriott, Sheraton, Westin and Hyatt--closed Monday
at $13 and weren't active premarket. The stock has more than
tripled in the last year, when it was near a 17-year low.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com