Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) Shares Acquired by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,387,239 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,234 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors were worth $28,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SHO. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 29.8% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 20,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 4,804 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sunstone Hotel Investors in the third quarter worth about $573,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 3.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,081,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $42,126,000 after acquiring an additional 117,390 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 7.1% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 67,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $700,000 after acquiring an additional 4,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 460.0% in the third 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 worth $14,596,000 after acquiring an additional 1,161,792 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.37% of the company’s stock.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Price Performance

NYSE SHO opened at $9.67 on Wednesday. Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.39 and a 12 month high of $12.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $11.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.90.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.16 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 business had revenue of $214.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.17 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 257.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.71.

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.