Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) Stock Price Down 4.2% – Should You Sell?

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) shares were down 4.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $11.25 and last traded at $11.25. Approximately 526,679 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 2,126,467 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.86.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $11.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.72. 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 company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.21.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $226.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.61 million. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 18.61%. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s quarterly revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 2.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,247,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $54,169,000 after purchasing an additional 109,327 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,775,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,558 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,081,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,126,000 after acquiring an additional 117,390 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,651,189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,731,000 after acquiring an additional 25,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 valued at $18,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,917 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.37% of the company’s stock.

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.