Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Takes Position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 10,368 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $182,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 212.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the second quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at $56,000. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Compass Point raised Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group cut their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.39.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 6.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HST opened at $17.55 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $12.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 1.32. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.71 and a 12 month high of $21.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $18.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.70.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. Host Hotels & Resorts’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.67%.

Host Hotels & Resorts Profile

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.