Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 180,346 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,048,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 180,346 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $36,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HST. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 6,611 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $182,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 23.5% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 4,870 shares during the last quarter. Invst LLC boosted its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 6.7% in the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 37,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 1.1% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 353,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,223,000 after acquiring an additional 3,827 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Host Hotels & Resorts Stock Down 0.7 %

HST opened at $18.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 2.90 and a current ratio of 2.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.70. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.71 and a twelve month high of $21.31.

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

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio is 77.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on HST shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 note on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Compass Point upgraded Host Hotels & Resorts from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Host Hotels & Resorts from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.