Analysts Set Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) Price Target at $12.20

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.20.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Stock Performance

Shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors stock opened at $12.01 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80, a PEG ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Sunstone Hotel Investors has a 12 month low of $9.39 and a 12 month high of $12.41.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $224.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sunstone Hotel Investors will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunstone Hotel Investors

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,120,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,566,000 after buying an additional 116,058 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,247,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,169,000 after acquiring an additional 109,327 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 304.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 343,018 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,540,000 after acquiring an additional 258,302 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 610,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,297,000 after purchasing an additional 46,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 359,767 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,713,000 after purchasing an additional 170,821 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.37% of the company’s stock.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Company Profile

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.