Advisors Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 11.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,517 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,929 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.0% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 19,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 10,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $197,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 81,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HST has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.32.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Host Hotels & Resorts stock opened at $18.43 on Friday. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.71 and a 1 year high of $21.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 2.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $17.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.67. The company has a market cap of $12.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.32.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.24). Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.67%.

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.