Scientech Research LLC Has $1.14 Million Position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Scientech Research LLC lessened its position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 36.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,001 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,500 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $1,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at about $375,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter worth $1,457,000. Vert Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 309,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,421,000 after acquiring an additional 26,678 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 716.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 155.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,610,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,305,000 after buying an additional 3,412,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Compass Point cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.90.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

HST stock opened at $15.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 1.29. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.22 and a 12-month high of $19.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $16.31.

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

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.14%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.33%.

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.