Morgan Stanley Lowers Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) Price Target to $7.00

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) had its price objective trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $9.00 to $7.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

SHO has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.57.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Stock Performance

Shares of SHO opened at $8.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.98 and a current ratio of 2.98. Sunstone Hotel Investors has a 1 year low of $7.45 and a 1 year high of $12.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $9.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.61.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $214.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.17 million. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 9.04%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sunstone Hotel Investors will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 257.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunstone Hotel Investors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 645.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,355,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $98,929,000 after acquiring an additional 7,234,862 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,567,535 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $77,760,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229,769 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,130,558 shares in the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 4,686,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $55,488,000 after purchasing an additional 851,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,156,930 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,218,000 after buying an additional 74,952 shares in the last quarter. 99.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.