Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 125,664 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lowered its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 433,545 shares of the company’s stock after selling 125,664 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.06% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $7,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ethic Inc. raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 199,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,490,000 after acquiring an additional 26,274 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 184.7% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,752,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,855,000 after acquiring an additional 6,326,709 shares during the last quarter. Crestline Management LP increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 29,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 13,600 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 227.5% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 102,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 71,144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at about $449,000. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock opened at $15.76 on Wednesday. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.22 and a 1 year high of $19.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $14.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.35. The company has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.92 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 2.90.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 12.26%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 83.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.90.

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.