William Blair Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO)

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,387,239 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 58,234 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 1.19% of Sunstone Hotel Investors worth $28,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SHO. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 442.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,001 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 2,448 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 114.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,271 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,743 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 9,118 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 3,249 shares during the period. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 4th quarter worth $141,000. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP raised its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 14,409 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 969 shares during the period. 99.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors stock opened at $9.67 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $11.02 and a 200-day moving average of $10.90. 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 company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 1.19. Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.39 and a 1-year high of $12.41.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $214.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $211.17 million. Sunstone Hotel Investors had a return on equity of 9.04% and a net margin of 18.61%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 257.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Sunstone Hotel Investors from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.71.

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.