Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,380,000 shares, a drop of 17.7% from the December 15th total of 12,610,000 shares. Approximately 5.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,720,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SHO shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $10.00 price target on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $11.86.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SHO traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $11.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,600,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,529,807. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.67. Sunstone Hotel Investors has a 52 week low of $9.39 and a 52 week high of $12.41. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 1.21.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $226.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $224.61 million. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 18.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Sunstone Hotel Investors will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s payout ratio is currently 44.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sunstone Hotel Investors

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,775,533 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,284,000 after buying an additional 1,130,558 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 11.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,120,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,566,000 after acquiring an additional 116,058 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors in the third quarter valued at approximately $573,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 170.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 199,580 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 125,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors during the third quarter worth $3,220,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.37% of the company’s stock.

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.