Vert Asset Management LLC Has $5.42 Million Holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Vert Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 309,446 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,678 shares during the period. Host Hotels & Resorts accounts for about 1.9% of Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $5,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 606,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,668,000 after purchasing an additional 113,761 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 123.4% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 65,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 36,278 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the third quarter valued at approximately $540,000. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the third quarter worth $4,775,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the third quarter worth $639,000. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of HST stock opened at $17.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 1.31. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.71 and a 12-month high of $21.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.60.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by ($0.24). Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.66%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is 77.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Compass Point upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on 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. StockNews.com lowered Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.04.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company 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.