Jefferies Financial Group Boosts Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) Price Target to $12.00

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

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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 issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sunstone Hotel Investors currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.17.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Stock Performance

Shares of SHO stock opened at $11.79 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 2.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Sunstone Hotel Investors has a 52 week low of $9.39 and a 52 week high of $12.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $11.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.57.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last released its quarterly 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). Sunstone Hotel Investors had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 18.61%. The firm had revenue of $226.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sunstone Hotel Investors will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunstone Hotel Investors

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 11.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,120,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,566,000 after buying an additional 116,058 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 3rd quarter worth about $573,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 170.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 199,580 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 125,809 shares during the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,220,000. Finally, 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 valued at $54,169,000 after buying an additional 109,327 shares during the last quarter. 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.