BlackRock Inc. Makes New Investment in Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. $SHO

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 35.1 million shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the second quarter, worth approximately $402.1 million and representing an 18.85% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 99.37% of the REIT.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Sell. The stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $10.67, below its reported $11.38 opening price.
• Sunstone exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.14 in EPS versus an $0.08 estimate and $277.1 million in revenue versus $266.7 million expected. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, an annualized yield of about 3.2%.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 35,116,958 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $402,089,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 18.85% of Sunstone Hotel Investors at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Sunstone Hotel Investors during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. bought a new stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,274 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 3,280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the first quarter worth about $91,000. Institutional investors own 99.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sunstone Hotel Investors currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $10.67.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHO opened at $11.38 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 3.84 and a current ratio of 3.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.40. Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $8.69 and a fifty-two week high of $12.07. The firm has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.97.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $277.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $266.67 million. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 3.21%. Sunstone Hotel Investors has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-0.980 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Sunstone Hotel Investors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 163.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robert C. Springer sold 89,631 shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.62, for a total value of $1,041,512.22. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 573,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,666,893.66. The trade was a 13.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Profile

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc NYSE: SHO is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, owning and asset‐managing upper‐upscale extended‐stay and premium‐branded hotel properties in the United States. The company's business model centers on generating stable, long‐term cash flows through franchise agreements and third‐party management contracts with established hotel operators.

As of the most recent reporting period, Sunstone's portfolio includes approximately 97 hotels and nearly 25,000 guest rooms across 19 states, with concentrations in major metropolitan and select high‐growth secondary markets.

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