Verition Fund Management LLC Invests $1.46 Million in Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO)

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 141,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,459,000. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Sunstone Hotel Investors as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 116,058 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sunstone Hotel Investors in the third quarter valued at about $573,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 170.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 199,580 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 125,809 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors during the second quarter worth about $303,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 368.0% during the second 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. 99.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $10.50 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $11.42.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Price Performance

Sunstone Hotel Investors stock remained flat at $12.07 during mid-day trading on Friday. 2,512,455 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,641,109. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $10.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.31. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.39 and a 52-week high of $12.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 1.25.

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). 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. Sunstone Hotel Investors's quarterly revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 2.98%. Sunstone Hotel Investors's payout ratio is 42.11%.

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.