Avanza Fonder AB Makes New Investment in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 83,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,457,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HST. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 606,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,668,000 after buying an additional 113,761 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 123.4% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 65,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 36,278 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the third quarter valued at about $540,000. LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the third quarter valued at about $4,775,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the third quarter worth about $639,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Compass Point raised Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.04.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

HST opened at $17.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.71 and a 12-month high of $21.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.93 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 1.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 12.92%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.67%.

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.