Sophron Capital Management L.P. Acquires New Position in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Sophron Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 521,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,131,000. Host Hotels & Resorts comprises about 3.6% of Sophron Capital Management L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 374,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,557,000 after buying an additional 20,691 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP raised its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 143,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,514,000 after acquiring an additional 11,665 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the 4th quarter worth approximately $198,000. Rush Island Management LP acquired a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,402,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 206,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.52% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Price Performance

NASDAQ:HST opened at $15.56 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $14.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.29. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a one year low of $12.22 and a one year high of $19.37. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 12.26% and a return on equity of 10.37%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on HST. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $22.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Compass Point cut shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $20.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.90.

Host Hotels & Resorts Company 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.