Jefferies Financial Group Issues Positive Forecast for Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) Stock Price

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) had its price target boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $10.00 to $12.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.17.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:SHO opened at $11.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.25. Sunstone Hotel Investors has a one year low of $9.39 and a one year high of $12.41. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.56.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $226.40 million during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sunstone Hotel Investors will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s payout ratio is 44.74%.

Institutional Trading of Sunstone Hotel Investors

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,389,917 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 460.0% during 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,775,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,558 shares during the period. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 976.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,123,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors during the third quarter valued at $3,220,000. 99.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.