Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.37, but opened at $10.66. Sunstone Hotel Investors shares last traded at $10.77, with a volume of 117,956 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SHO shares. StockNews.com downgraded Sunstone Hotel Investors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 research report on Friday, September 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.42.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Trading Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.25. 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 is $10.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.25.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $224.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s payout ratio is 42.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunstone Hotel Investors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,247,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $54,169,000 after buying an additional 109,327 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 304.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 343,018 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,540,000 after buying an additional 258,302 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 8.2% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 610,149 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,297,000 after acquiring an additional 46,402 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 90.4% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 359,767 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,713,000 after acquiring an additional 170,821 shares during the period. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors during the third quarter worth about $3,220,000. 99.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Company 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.