Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 942,822 Shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO - Free Report) by 69.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 424,239 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 942,822 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Sunstone Hotel Investors worth $4,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 368.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,767,636 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $18,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,917 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 318.0% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,367,061 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,299,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,986 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors during the second quarter worth $2,165,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 572.0% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 219,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,440,000 after buying an additional 186,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,664,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SHO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Sunstone Hotel Investors from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note 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 target for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $11.42.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Trading Up 0.1 %

Sunstone Hotel Investors stock traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $10.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,933,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,042,767. Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.39 and a twelve month high of $11.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $10.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.25.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $226.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.61 million. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 9.04%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Sunstone Hotel Investors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.74%.

Sunstone Hotel Investors 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.