GAMMA Investing LLC Invests $87,000 in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 4,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HST. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 15.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,275,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $807,923,000 after acquiring an additional 6,719,578 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,873,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the third quarter worth approximately $28,456,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 36.1% in the third quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 5,971,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,963,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,874 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 105.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,884,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478,591 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HST. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $18.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.33.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

HST stock opened at $19.19 on Tuesday. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a one year low of $14.92 and a one year high of $21.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.29. The company has a market capitalization of $13.50 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is 76.92%.

Insider Transactions at Host Hotels & Resorts

In related news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total transaction of $591,981.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.