Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Acquires 1,125,543 Shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. by 45.9%, now owning approximately 1.78% of the company valued at $33.7 million.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Sunstone Hotel Investors, with price targets ranging from $7.00 to $11.00 and an average rating of "Hold".
• Sunstone Hotel Investors reported quarterly earnings of $0.28 per share, surpassing expectations and showing a revenue increase of 5.0% from the previous year.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO - Free Report) by 45.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,576,897 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 1,125,543 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 1.78% of Sunstone Hotel Investors worth $33,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SHO. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the first quarter worth about $42,838,000. GRS Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the fourth quarter worth $22,980,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors during the 4th quarter valued at $17,309,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 23.0% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 1,229,769 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,659,000. Institutional investors own 99.37% of the company's stock.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of SHO traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $8.79. The company had a trading volume of 2,146,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,847,301. Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $7.45 and a 52-week high of $12.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 439.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 2.89 and a current ratio of 2.73.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.02. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a net margin of 2.15% and a return on equity of 1.12%. The firm had revenue of $259.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $256.68 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Sunstone Hotel Investors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,800.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on SHO shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $9.00 to $8.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $12.00 to $8.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sunstone Hotel Investors presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $9.07.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Profile

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.