Empowered Funds LLC Acquires New Holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 17,791 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HST. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,035 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 44.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 50.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 126,025.0% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 5,045 shares of the company's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 5,041 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company's stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 2.5 %

Host Hotels & Resorts stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $16.34. The stock had a trading volume of 17,225,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,056,027. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 2.90. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $17.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.47. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.71 and a twelve month high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.29. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.31% and a net margin of 12.26%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. Analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.54.

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.