Van ECK Associates Corp Has $2.66 Million Stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,692 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,235 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $2,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HST. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 44.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 50.5% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,571 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HST has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.54.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ:HST traded down $0.42 on Friday, hitting $16.34. 17,225,811 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,056,027. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.71 and a 1 year high of $21.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.47. The company has a market cap of $11.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

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

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.