Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE:SHO) by 73.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,536,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,206,050 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.76% of Sunstone Hotel Investors worth $15,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 584.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 4,310 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 3,680 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Sunstone Hotel Investors during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Sunstone Hotel Investors by 34.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 7,510 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 1,937 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors by 8,623.5% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 11,383 shares in the last quarter. 99.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sunstone Hotel Investors from $11.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sunstone Hotel Investors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.20.

Sunstone Hotel Investors Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE SHO opened at $12.01 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.39 and a fifty-two week high of $12.41. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $10.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.43. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 6.45 and a beta of 1.25.

Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). Sunstone Hotel Investors had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 9.04%. The firm had revenue of $226.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $224.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Sunstone Hotel Investors’s payout ratio is 44.74%.

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.