Fifth Third Bancorp Raises Position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,762 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 537.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,893,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,318,000 after buying an additional 5,811,722 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 66.9% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,637,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,017,000 after acquiring an additional 5,466,629 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 207.9% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,198,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484,370 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 92.9% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,764,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 51,243,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,056,000 after purchasing an additional 950,431 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Shares of HST opened at $16.64 on Friday. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.71 and a 52 week high of $21.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $17.82 and a 200-day moving average of $17.58.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.24). Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 12.92%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.81%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is currently 77.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Compass Point upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.96.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

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.