PGGM Investments Acquires New Position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

PGGM Investments purchased a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,961,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,664,000. PGGM Investments owned about 0.42% of Host Hotels & Resorts as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 82,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,613,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 21,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 57.5% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 67,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 279,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,494,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

HST traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.86. 3,952,161 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,460,994. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.29. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.92 and a 12-month high of $21.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.90. The company has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.25). Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 13.93% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The company 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 $0.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.33.

Insider Activity at Host Hotels & Resorts

In related news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $591,981.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,225,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,826,140.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.