Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Increases Stock Position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. lifted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 86.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 475,256 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 220,357 shares during the quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. owned about 0.07% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $8,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at about $807,878,000. Invesco Ltd. increased 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 valued at $395,171,000 after purchasing an additional 4,460,468 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 8.5% during the 4th 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. KBC Group NV increased its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 155.2% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,610,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,305,000 after acquiring an additional 3,412,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,899,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,261,877 shares during the period. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 1.1 %

Host Hotels & Resorts stock opened at $13.51 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $14.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.70. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.22 and a 1-year high of $19.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 2.90.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. Equities research analysts forecast that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.92%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 80.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Compass Point lowered shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $14.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.17.

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.