Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 1,978 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 203,972 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,978 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $3,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.0% in the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 24,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 634 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 74,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 4.9% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 784 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 44.5% in the third 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. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James cut 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Host Hotels & Resorts presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.54.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

HST stock opened at $16.33 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.47. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.65 and a 1 year high of $21.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

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

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.81%.

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.