Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.09 (NYSE:SHO)

Key Points

• Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, with a significant yield of 4.1%, scheduled for payment on October 15th to eligible investors.
• The company currently has a payout ratio of 189.5%, indicating it is relying on its balance sheet to cover the dividend, but projected earnings for next year suggest a future payout ratio of 37.1%.
• Recent price targets for Sunstone's stock have been adjusted by several analysts, with Jefferies Financial Group lowering its target from $12.00 to $8.00, reflecting a cautious outlook on the company's performance.

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 7th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.09 per share by the real estate investment trust on Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th.

Sunstone Hotel Investors has a dividend payout ratio of 189.5% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities analysts expect Sunstone Hotel Investors to earn $0.97 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.36 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 37.1%.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SHO traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $8.64. 2,552,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,893,417. Sunstone Hotel Investors has a twelve month low of $7.45 and a twelve month high of $12.41. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $8.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 2.73 and a current ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 432.42, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.02. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a return on equity of 1.12% and a net margin of 2.15%. The firm had revenue of $259.77 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $256.68 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Sunstone Hotel Investors will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set an "underweight" rating and a $8.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 target price on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $9.00 to $7.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.07.

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.