Head-To-Head Contrast: Ryman Hospitality Properties (NYSE:RHP) & Sunstone Hotel Investors (NYSE:SHO)

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

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	9.91%	34.54%	4.39%
Sunstone Hotel Investors	5.30%	3.21%	1.75%

Dividends

Ryman Hospitality Properties pays an annual dividend of $4.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Sunstone Hotel Investors pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Ryman Hospitality Properties pays out 117.4% 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 163.6% 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 raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years and Sunstone Hotel Investors has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Ryman Hospitality Properties is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ryman Hospitality Properties and Sunstone Hotel Investors”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ryman Hospitality Properties	$2.58 billion	3.07	$243.43 million	$4.09	30.65
Sunstone Hotel Investors	$960.13 million	2.11	$24.57 million	$0.22	49.60

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

Volatility and Risk

Ryman Hospitality Properties has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sunstone Hotel Investors has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider 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 insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Sunstone Hotel Investors shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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	11	0	2.92
Sunstone Hotel Investors	1	5	1	1	2.25

Ryman Hospitality Properties presently has a consensus target price of $129.73, suggesting a potential upside of 3.50%. Sunstone Hotel Investors has a consensus target price of $10.67, suggesting a potential downside of 2.24%. Given Ryman Hospitality Properties’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ryman Hospitality Properties is more favorable than Sunstone Hotel Investors.

Summary

Ryman Hospitality Properties beats Sunstone Hotel Investors on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ryman Hospitality Properties

Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (NYSE: RHP) is a leading lodging and hospitality real estate investment trust that specializes in upscale convention center resorts and entertainment experiences. The Company's holdings include Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center; Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center; Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center; Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center; and Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center, five of the top seven largest non-gaming convention center hotels in the United States based on total indoor meeting space. The Company also owns the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa as well as two ancillary hotels adjacent to our Gaylord Hotels properties. The Company's hotel portfolio is managed by Marriott International and includes a combined total of 11,414 rooms as well as more than 3 million square feet of total indoor and outdoor meeting space in top convention and leisure destinations across the country. RHP also owns a 70% controlling ownership interest in Opry Entertainment Group (OEG), which is composed of entities owning a growing collection of iconic and emerging country music brands, including the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, WSM 650 AM, Ole Red, Nashville-area attractions, and Block 21, a mixed-use entertainment, lodging, office and retail complex, including the W Austin Hotel and the ACL Live at the Moody Theater, located in downtown Austin, Texas. RHP operates OEG as its Entertainment segment in a taxable REIT subsidiary, and its results are consolidated in the Company's financial results.

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.