Retirement Systems of Alabama Lowers Stock Holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 590,746 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,423 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.08% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $11,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 57.5% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 186.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 1,537 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Host Hotels & Resorts

In other Host Hotels & Resorts news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.04, for a total transaction of $591,981.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,225,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,826,140.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 0.2 %

HST stock opened at $18.84 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 3.29 and a quick ratio of 3.29. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.92 and a 1-year high of $21.31. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.98.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 13.93%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is 76.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on HST. UBS Group dropped their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Bank of America raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.33.

Host Hotels & Resorts Profile

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is an S&P 500 company and is the largest lodging real estate investment trust and one of the largest owners of luxury and upper-upscale hotels. The Company currently owns 72 properties in the United States and five properties internationally totaling approximately 42,000 rooms.