Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) Reaches New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $12.00 to $8.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Sunstone Hotel Investors traded as low as $7.45 and last traded at $7.64, with a volume of 218536 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.72.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sunstone Hotel Investors has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $11.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunstone Hotel Investors

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SHO. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 645.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,355,572 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $98,929,000 after purchasing an additional 7,234,862 shares during the last quarter. GRS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,980,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,309,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,653,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,567,535 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $77,760,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229,769 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.37% of the company's stock.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Trading Down 1.1 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $9.99 and a 200-day moving average of $10.72. The company has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $214.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.17 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. Sunstone Hotel Investors's payout ratio is 257.14%.

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.