Aberdeen Group plc Grows 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 stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,824,642 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 363,533 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.26% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $25,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HST. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,586,000. Mariner LLC increased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 46,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $814,000 after buying an additional 4,357 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 62,997 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,104,000 after buying an additional 15,417 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,717,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC increased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 51,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $905,000 after buying an additional 8,143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of HST stock traded up $0.76 on Friday, reaching $16.91. The stock had a trading volume of 9,060,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,222,170. The stock has a market cap of $11.63 billion, a P/E 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.38.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 9.90% and a net margin of 11.12%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. Host Hotels & Resorts has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.980-2.020 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Host Hotels & Resorts's payout ratio is 85.11%.

Host Hotels & Resorts 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.