Park Avenue Securities LLC Trims Stock Position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Park Avenue Securities LLC cut its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 29.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,160 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,972 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HST. National Pension Service acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 202.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 1,088 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 185,200.0% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 696.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Shares of HST stock opened at $15.22 on Monday. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.22 and a 1-year high of $19.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $14.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 2.90. The firm has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is 83.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on HST shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Compass Point lowered shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.27.

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.