Barclays PLC Sells 91,842 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Barclays PLC decreased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,016,656 shares of the company’s stock after selling 91,842 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.29% of Host Hotels & Resorts worth $35,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HST. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 212.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 44.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HST opened at $18.58 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.70. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.71 and a 1 year high of $21.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.90. The company has a market capitalization of $12.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 1.32.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.24). Host Hotels & Resorts had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.31%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HST shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Compass Point upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.39.

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.