Kennedy Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 425,024 Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 425,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,446,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Host Hotels & Resorts at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 314,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,512,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,068,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,877,000 after buying an additional 734,100 shares in the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1,798.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. now owns 661,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,589,000 after buying an additional 626,628 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 66,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management US Inc. lifted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 85.3% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 2,078,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,413,000 after acquiring an additional 957,053 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

HST stock opened at $13.71 on Friday. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.22 and a 52-week high of $20.33. The company has a quick ratio of 2.90, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.88.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 12.26%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HST has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Compass Point cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $16.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.17.

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.