689,281 Shares in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Bought by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 689,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,076,000. ING Groep NV owned about 0.10% of Host Hotels & Resorts at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HST. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 626.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 9,223 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 769,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 11,577 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 4.6% during the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 49,608 shares of the company’s stock worth $874,000 after purchasing an additional 2,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1,549.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 13,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,410,000 after buying an additional 12,863 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

HST opened at $16.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 1.30. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.71 and a twelve month high of $21.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $17.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.47. 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 (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 10.72%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 77.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective 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. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group cut 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.54.

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.