First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 127,242 Shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. $HST

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) by 16.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 919,035 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 127,242 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts were worth $17,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,128,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,917,115,000 after purchasing an additional 383,490 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts during the fourth quarter worth $628,014,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 9.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,021,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217,322 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,700,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,056,000 after purchasing an additional 493,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Host Hotels & Resorts by 251.9% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 13,755,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,555,000 after purchasing an additional 9,846,104 shares in the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Host Hotels & Resorts

In other news, EVP Nathan S. Tyrrell sold 58,579 shares of Host Hotels & Resorts stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.00, for a total value of $1,288,738.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 697,658 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,348,476. This trade represents a 7.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HST shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a report on Friday, June 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lifted their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.27.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ HST opened at $25.54 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 7.91, a quick ratio of 7.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.11 and a 12 month high of $25.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $24.01 and a 200-day moving average of $21.28.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Host Hotels & Resorts had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 15.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Host Hotels & Resorts has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.100-2.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.42%.

About Host Hotels & Resorts

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on owning and managing premium lodging properties. The company’s portfolio predominantly comprises luxury and upper-upscale hotels and resorts operated under leading global brands. Through strategic acquisitions, dispositions and capital investments, Host Hotels & Resorts seeks to enhance long-term value by aligning property-level operating performance with broader market trends in hospitality demand.

The company’s holdings span major urban, resort and conference destinations across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.