Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 180,346 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,048,090 shares of the company's stock after selling 180,346 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.29% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $36,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 44.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 3,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 3rd quarter valued at $90,000. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

NASDAQ:HST traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $18.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,710,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,864,181. The company has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.90. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.71 and a twelve month high of $21.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.70.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. Host Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio is presently 77.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.39.

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.