Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $11.71.

Several research firms recently issued reports on SHO. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Price Performance

Shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors stock opened at $10.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.20. 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 has a 12 month low of $9.39 and a 12 month high of $12.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $11.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.88.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 9.04%. The company had revenue of $214.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $211.17 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sunstone Hotel Investors will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s payout ratio is presently 257.14%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunstone Hotel Investors

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHO. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 442.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 114.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,271 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors 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.