Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,056 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,589 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. National Pension Service purchased a new position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 202.6% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 94.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HST opened at $14.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average of $16.07 and a 200 day moving average of $17.23. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.15 and a 1-year high of $20.85.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.29. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.61%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HST shares. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Compass Point cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Host Hotels & Resorts currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.54.

Host Hotels & Resorts Profile

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.