FORA Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 170,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,007,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.1% during the third 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 period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 66.9% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 13,637,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,017,000 after purchasing an additional 5,466,629 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 763,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,445,000 after buying an additional 8,341 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 5,778 shares in the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ HST traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, reaching $18.48. The company had a trading volume of 461,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,808,158. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $17.82 and its 200 day moving average is $17.66. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.71 and a 52-week high of $21.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.32.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.33%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HST. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. 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. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.32.

Host Hotels & Resorts 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.