Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $9.39 and last traded at $9.48, with a volume of 1003458 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SHO shares. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.57.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.87. 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 (NYSE:SHO) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 18.61%. The company had revenue of $214.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.17 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s payout ratio is 257.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunstone Hotel Investors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the third quarter valued at about $573,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 3.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,081,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,126,000 after buying an additional 117,390 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 7.1% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 67,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 4,492 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 460.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,414,372 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,596,000 after buying an additional 1,161,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors in the third quarter worth about $1,459,000. 99.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.