Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,984,379 shares of the company’s stock after selling 107,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $34,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 202.6% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 2.7 %

NASDAQ HST opened at $14.91 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.39. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.47 and a twelve month high of $21.27. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is 80.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Compass Point cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.21.

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.