Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $11.42.

SHO has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $10.50 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Stock Performance

NYSE:SHO opened at $10.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.25. Sunstone Hotel Investors has a 1 year low of $9.39 and a 1 year high of $11.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.35 and a 200-day moving average of $10.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). Sunstone Hotel Investors had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 9.04%. The business had revenue of $226.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sunstone Hotel Investors will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.74%.

Institutional Trading of Sunstone Hotel Investors

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 584.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 3,680 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Sunstone Hotel Investors in the second quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.37% of the company’s stock.

About Sunstone Hotel Investors

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc is a lodging real estate investment trust ("REIT") that as of the date of this release owns 14 hotels comprised of 6,675 rooms, the majority of which are operated under nationally recognized brands. Sunstone's strategy is to create long-term stakeholder value through the acquisition, active ownership, and disposition of well-located hotel and resort real estate.