Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) Shares Bought by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST - Free Report) by 38.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 671,803 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 186,996 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.10% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $11,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HST. Freedom Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,216 shares of the company's stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 24,404 shares of the company's stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 74,014 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 13,281 shares of the company's stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 77,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Compass Point downgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.90.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HST traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, hitting $14.12. 14,003,850 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,020,255. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $14.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 2.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 1.26. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.22 and a 12 month high of $19.37.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.08. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 12.26%. Analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.81%.

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.