California Public Employees Retirement System Acquires 1,198,013 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 82.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,659,005 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,198,013 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $51,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HST. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 50,275,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $807,923,000 after buying an additional 6,719,578 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter worth about $38,873,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,456,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 5,971,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,963,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 105.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,884,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478,591 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HST. Bank of America upgraded shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.33.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HST opened at $18.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.88. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.92 and a 12-month high of $21.31. The firm has a market cap of $13.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.25). Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 13.93%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This is an increase from Host Hotels & Resorts’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is 76.92%.

Insider Transactions at Host Hotels & Resorts

In other news, CEO James F. Risoleo sold 28,136 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 owns 2,225,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,826,140.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.