Bank of Nova Scotia Reduces Stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 25.1%, now owning 54,940 shares valued at $781,000 after selling 18,456 shares in the first quarter.
• Other institutional investors, like LPL Financial LLC and Envestnet Asset Management Inc., significantly increased their stakes in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter, with LPL raising its stake by 72.3%.
• Host Hotels & Resorts announced a dividend of $0.20 per share, representing a yield of 5.2%, with a payout ratio of 85.11%.

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 25.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,940 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,456 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HST. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 185,200.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 696.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,341 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 2,047 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 28.4% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,648 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 80.1% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the first quarter valued at about $66,000. 98.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock traded up $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $15.65. 2,083,225 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,855,330. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.40. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.22 and a 1-year high of $19.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 9.90%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Host Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on HST shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $17.00 to $18.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.88.

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.