KBC Group NV Acquires 3,412,589 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

KBC Group NV raised its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 155.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,610,981 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,412,589 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $98,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HST. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 867 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 50.5% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mendota Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 27.1% in the third quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 3,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock opened at $16.94 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.