abrdn plc Trims Stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

abrdn plc cut its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,630,744 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,044 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned approximately 0.23% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $31,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HST. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 82,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. Eagle Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Strategies LLC now owns 21,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 57.5% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 67,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 279,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,494,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ HST opened at $19.00 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.86. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $13.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.31. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.92 and a 52 week high of $21.31.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.25). Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 13.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Host Hotels & Resorts’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. This is a positive change from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total value of $591,981.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,225,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,826,140.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $18.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Host Hotels & Resorts currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.33.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company Profile

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.