Moody’s revises Host Hotels to positive

Moody's Investors Service said it affirmed the Baa3 senior unsecured debt rating and Baa3 industrial revenue bonds of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. and the Baa3 senior unsecured debt and provisional Baa3 senior unsecured shelf ratings of Host Hotels & Resorts, LP and revised the outlook to positive from stable.

Moody’s said the positive outlook reflects a significant decline in leverage and strong EBITDA growth over the past two years resulting in improved credit metrics including Net Debt/TTM EBITDA and fixed charge coverage.

Host Hotels has reduced leverage by $1.5 billion over the past two years, which has reduced Net Debt/TTM EBITDA to 2.8 times at the first quarter of 2014 from 3.4 times at the first quarter of 2013 and improved EBITDA/fixed charges to 4.1 times at the first quarter of 2014 from 3.2 times at the first quarter of 2013. Moody's expects these metrics to continue to improve over the intermediate term in concert with positive lodging fundamentals. The improvement in these metrics will allow the REIT to remain comfortably within the confines of an investment grade firm, even in a stressed operating environment, the agency said.

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