Brokerages Set Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) PT at $12.20

Shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.20.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

Institutional Trading of Sunstone Hotel Investors

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 368.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,767,636 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $18,489,000 after buying an additional 1,389,917 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 460.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,414,372 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,161,792 shares during the last quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 976.5% during the third quarter. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC now owns 1,238,002 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,776,000 after buying an additional 1,123,001 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position 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 worth $14,299,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,986 shares during the period. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,220,000. 99.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Stock Up 1.1 %

Sunstone Hotel Investors stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $12.34. 1,651,284 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,168,992. Sunstone Hotel Investors has a 52-week low of $9.39 and a 52-week high of $12.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business's 50-day moving average price is $10.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.25.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $226.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $224.61 million. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 18.61%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. On average, research analysts expect 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 Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Sunstone Hotel Investors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.11%.

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.