Aberdeen Group plc Grows Stock Position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. $HST

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 24.9%, owning 1,824,642 shares valued at approximately $25.7 million.
• Wall Street analysts generally have a positive outlook on Host Hotels & Resorts, with six analysts rating it as a "Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.50.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 5.0%.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 24.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,824,642 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 363,533 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.26% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $25,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 185,200.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 696.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,341 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 2,047 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 74.8% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 80.1% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,287 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HST traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.91. 9,060,799 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,222,170. The company has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99 and a beta of 1.34. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.22 and a 1 year high of $19.36. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $15.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 9.90%. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Host Hotels & Resorts has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.980-2.020 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 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, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Host Hotels & Resorts's payout ratio is currently 85.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HST shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $17.00 to $18.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $17.50.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

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.