Natixis Acquires New Shares in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Natixis bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 508,704 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,912,000. Natixis owned approximately 0.07% of Host Hotels & Resorts at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 202.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,625 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 94.9% in the 4th 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 period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HST shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $14.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Compass Point cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.10.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

NASDAQ:HST traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $13.93. 5,114,102 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,978,302. The company has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 1.26. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $14.83 and a 200 day moving average of $16.66. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.22 and a 1-year high of $19.87.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.29. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 12.26%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. Research analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.74%. Host Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio is 80.81%.

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.