Stevens Capital Management LP Takes $210,000 Position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 57.5% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 186.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $18.86. 3,952,161 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,923,556. The company has a market cap of $13.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.88. 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 52 week low of $14.92 and a 52 week high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 13.93% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 4.24%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HST shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $23.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,225,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,826,140.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

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.