Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Stake Boosted by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 3.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 155,436 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,707 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $3,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 124,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,567,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.8% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 15,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 82,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,613,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 21,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 4,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $18.86. The stock had a trading volume of 3,952,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,460,994. The business has a fifty day moving average of $20.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.90. The firm has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.31. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.92 and a fifty-two week high of $21.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 3.29 and a quick ratio of 3.29.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.25). Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 13.93% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. Host Hotels & Resorts’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.20 dividend. This is an increase from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HST shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $591,981.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,225,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,826,140.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is an S&P 500 company and is the largest lodging real estate investment trust and one of the largest owners of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. The Company currently owns 72 properties in the United States and five properties internationally totaling approximately 42,000 rooms.