Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 80,062 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stakes in Host Hotels & Resorts by 21.7%, selling 80,062 shares and now holding 289,318 shares valued at approximately $4.11 million.
• In the fourth quarter, several institutional investors, including Cohen & Steers Inc. and Invesco Ltd., significantly increased their holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, showcasing a strong interest in the company.
• Host Hotels & Resorts reported a net margin of 11.12% and earnings per share of $0.58 for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations with a total revenue of $1.59 billion.

Natixis Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 21.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 289,318 shares of the company's stock after selling 80,062 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $4,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HST. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 50,002,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $876,115,000 after purchasing an additional 3,932,928 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,555,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,171,000 after purchasing an additional 4,460,468 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,752,705 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,947,000 after purchasing an additional 4,158,219 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 184.7% during 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 during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 9,068,300 shares of the company's stock worth $158,877,000 after purchasing an additional 734,100 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

HST stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.35. 7,666,740 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,585,729. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 2.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.43. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.22 and a 52 week high of $19.36.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 return on equity of 9.90% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.