Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Shares Bought by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 132,171 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,203 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $2,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 606,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,668,000 after acquiring an additional 113,761 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 123.4% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 65,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 36,278 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the third quarter valued at $540,000. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at $375,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,457,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Compass Point lowered shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.54.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of HST opened at $14.44 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 1.30. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.83 and a 52-week high of $20.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.19. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 12.26%. Equities research analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.54%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.81%.

Host Hotels & Resorts Profile

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the management of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Brazil, and Canada. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Bethesda, MD.