Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Sells 5,700 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,282 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,700 shares during the quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.0% during the 3rd 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 period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 4.9% during 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 period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.0% during 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 period. Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 867 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Compass Point upgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.04.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of HST stock opened at $17.29 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.88 and a 200-day moving average of $17.62. The company has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.90. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a one year low of $15.71 and a one year high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 10.72%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.41 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is currently 77.67%.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

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.