Vestcor Inc Purchases Shares of 29,357 Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors, purchasing 29,357 shares valued at approximately $276,000 during the first quarter.
• Sunstone Hotel Investors reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.21 for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.18, while the firm's revenue increased by 7.8% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.1%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 360.00%.

Vestcor Inc purchased a new stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 29,357 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 47.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,831 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 805.2% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,409 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 5,701 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd grew its stake in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 140.2% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 11,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 6,634 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.37% of the company's stock.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHO traded down $0.09 on Friday, reaching $8.71. 1,138,158 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,372,318. Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.45 and a fifty-two week high of $12.41. The company's 50 day moving average is $8.85 and its 200-day moving average is $9.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 436.97, 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 current ratio of 2.73 and a quick ratio of 2.89.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $259.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $256.68 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 earnings per share. Sunstone Hotel Investors's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Sunstone Hotel Investors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,800.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $9.00 to $8.50 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America raised Sunstone Hotel Investors from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $10.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Sunstone Hotel Investors in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sunstone Hotel Investors presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.