Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired 67,989 shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, valued at approximately $966,000, during the first quarter.
• Host Hotels & Resorts reported a quarterly EPS of $0.58, exceeding analysts' estimates, and experienced an 8.2% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company's recent dividend announcement included a $0.20 quarterly dividend, representing an annualized yield of 5.1%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 67,989 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $966,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 184.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 9,752,018 shares of the company's stock worth $170,855,000 after purchasing an additional 6,326,709 shares in the last quarter. Rush Island Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter worth $99,402,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,555,445 shares of the company's stock worth $395,171,000 after buying an additional 4,460,468 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,752,705 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,947,000 after buying an additional 4,158,219 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 50,002,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $876,115,000 after buying an additional 3,932,928 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.52% of the company's stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HST traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $15.34. 3,522,328 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,867,182. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $15.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31 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 current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 9.90% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $1.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. Host Hotels & Resorts's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Host Hotels & Resorts's payout ratio is presently 85.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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