Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC Acquires 1,123,001 Shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO)

Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) by 976.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,238,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,123,001 shares during the period. Heitman Real Estate Securities LLC’s holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors were worth $12,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 368.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,767,636 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389,917 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 460.0% during the 3rd 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 valued at $14,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161,792 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 318.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,367,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $14,299,000 after buying an additional 1,039,986 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors in the second quarter worth $2,165,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Sunstone Hotel Investors during the second quarter worth $1,664,000. 99.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Trading Up 0.2 %

SHO stock opened at $10.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98. Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.39 and a 12 month high of $11.59. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $10.39 and its 200 day moving average is $10.26.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). Sunstone Hotel Investors had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 18.61%. The firm had revenue of $226.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $10.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sunstone Hotel Investors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $11.42.

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.