Apella Capital LLC Buys Shares of 71,756 Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Key Points

• Apella Capital LLC initiated a new position in Starwood Property Trust, buying 71,756 shares in the first quarter, worth about $1.3 million.
• Starwood Property Trust recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.39 per share, missing estimates, while revenue came in at $205.55 million, well below analyst expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 11.4%, though the payout ratio is a high 200%.

Apella Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 71,756 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,302,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 106.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,449 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in Starwood Property Trust by 154.4% in the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,496 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 49.82% of the company's stock.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

STWD stock opened at $16.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $17.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.78. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.54 and a 52-week high of $21.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $205.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.25 million. Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 18.11%.The business's revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.4%. Starwood Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 200.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total value of $120,132.69. Following the transaction, the director owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,880,443.76. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on STWD shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group began coverage on Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Profile

Starwood Property Trust NYSE: STWD is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that specializes in originating, acquiring and managing commercial mortgage loans and other real estate-related investments. The company's portfolio spans a variety of asset classes, including senior mortgages, mezzanine debt, preferred equity and direct equity investments in commercial properties. By focusing on both debt and equity capital solutions, Starwood Property Trust seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for its shareholders through a combination of current income and capital appreciation.

Operating primarily in the United States, Starwood Property Trust deploys capital across a broad range of property types, such as multifamily residential, office, retail, hotel and industrial.

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