National Pension Service Invests $26,000 in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

National Pension Service purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1,549.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,410,000 after purchasing an additional 12,863 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 3rd quarter valued at $108,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 135,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 14,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 11,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HST. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Raymond James cut their price target 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. UBS Group cut their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.54.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:HST opened at $16.13 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.49. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.71 and a 12 month high of $21.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors 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 4.96%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.81%.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company 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.