Scientech Research LLC Purchases New Shares in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 19,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $353,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HST. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 3,870.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,221,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,165,260 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 103.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,675,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866,661 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 782.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,621,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,567,000 after buying an additional 1,437,499 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 7,962,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,169,000 after buying an additional 1,339,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,189,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,218,000 after buying an additional 965,100 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HST. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $21.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Compass Point lowered shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $25.00 to $18.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

HST opened at $17.60 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 4.55 and a current ratio of 4.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.32. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.92 and a 52-week high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.43%.

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.