Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE:RHP) & Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) Head to Head Analysis

Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE:RHP) and Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO) are both mid-cap real estate companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, profitability, earnings and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Ryman Hospitality Properties has a beta of 1.23, suggesting that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sunstone Hotel Investors has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Ryman Hospitality Properties pays an annual dividend of $4.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Sunstone Hotel Investors pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ryman Hospitality Properties pays out 115.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Sunstone Hotel Investors pays out 80.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ryman Hospitality Properties has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Sunstone Hotel Investors has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Ryman Hospitality Properties and Sunstone Hotel Investors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ryman Hospitality Properties	0	1	12	1	3.00
Sunstone Hotel Investors	1	6	1	1	2.22

Ryman Hospitality Properties presently has a consensus price target of $136.67, indicating a potential downside of 1.48%. Sunstone Hotel Investors has a consensus price target of $11.43, indicating a potential downside of 10.67%. Given Ryman Hospitality Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Ryman Hospitality Properties is more favorable than Sunstone Hotel Investors.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ryman Hospitality Properties and Sunstone Hotel Investors”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ryman Hospitality Properties	$2.58 billion	3.71	$243.43 million	$4.14	33.51
Sunstone Hotel Investors	$960.13 million	2.48	$24.57 million	$0.45	28.43

Ryman Hospitality Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Sunstone Hotel Investors. Sunstone Hotel Investors is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ryman Hospitality Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Ryman Hospitality Properties and Sunstone Hotel Investors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ryman Hospitality Properties	9.88%	29.45%	4.23%
Sunstone Hotel Investors	5.30%	3.21%	1.75%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.5% of Ryman Hospitality Properties shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.4% of Sunstone Hotel Investors shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of Ryman Hospitality Properties shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Sunstone Hotel Investors shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Ryman Hospitality Properties beats Sunstone Hotel Investors on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ryman Hospitality Properties

Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. is a real estate investment trust focused on upscale hotels and resorts designed for conventions and large group events. Its portfolio includes the Gaylord Hotels properties in Nashville, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; Grapevine, Texas; National Harbor, Maryland; and Aurora, Colorado. These destination resorts combine lodging with extensive meeting and convention facilities, dining, and entertainment. The company also owns and operates entertainment venues and related businesses through Opry Entertainment Group.

About Sunstone Hotel Investors

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc. is a lodging real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on owning hotels and resorts in the United States. Its portfolio centers on upper-upscale and luxury properties in major urban markets and resort destinations. The company invests in full-service hotels that serve business and leisure travelers, including properties with meeting, dining and other hospitality amenities. Hotel operations are generally conducted by third-party operators under established hotel brands.