Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. $HST

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ:HST) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 32,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $625,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Host Hotels & Resorts by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 108,128,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,917,115,000 after purchasing an additional 383,490 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Host Hotels & Resorts in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $628,014,000. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 valued at $425,866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217,322 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Host Hotels & Resorts by 2.2% during 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 during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased 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 worth $263,555,000 after buying an additional 9,846,104 shares during the last quarter. 98.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on HST. Barclays boosted their target price on Host Hotels & Resorts from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Host Hotels & Resorts from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Argus set a $27.00 target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Host Hotels & Resorts in a research note on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.95.

Insider Activity at Host Hotels & Resorts

In related news, EVP Nathan S. Tyrrell sold 58,579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 697,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,348,476. This represents a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Host Hotels & Resorts Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of HST stock opened at $23.35 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.09. Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc. has a 52-week low of $15.11 and a 52-week high of $25.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.22 and its 200 day moving average is $20.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 7.91 and a current ratio of 7.91.

Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ:HST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 16.40%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous 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 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Host Hotels & Resorts Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Host Hotels & Resorts’s payout ratio is presently 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.