Carmel Capital Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Key Points

• Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 63.8% in Q4 to 181,676 shares (worth about $3.27M), representing roughly 1.1% of its portfolio and its 23rd-largest holding.
• Starwood’s board authorized a $400 million share repurchase (up to 6.1% of outstanding shares) and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.48, implying a 10.5% yield with a high payout ratio of 165.5%.
• Most recent results showed EPS of $0.42 (beat by $0.01) while revenue of $284.5M missed estimates; analysts mostly rate STWD a "Hold" with a consensus target of $19.80 and shares trading in the high‑teens.

Carmel Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) by 63.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,676 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 70,767 shares during the quarter. Starwood Property Trust makes up about 1.1% of Carmel Capital Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Carmel Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Starwood Property Trust were worth $3,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in STWD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,976,364 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $638,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,085 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 1.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,387,358 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $104,353,000 after purchasing an additional 64,178 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 157.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,702,935 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $66,690,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,856 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 0.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,727,404 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $52,830,000 after purchasing an additional 12,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 8.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,342,321 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $45,371,000 after purchasing an additional 177,281 shares in the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STWD opened at $18.21 on Friday. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.90 and a fifty-two week high of $21.05. The company has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.10.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $284.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.53 million. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 22.32% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 165.52%.

Insider Transactions at Starwood Property Trust

In other Starwood Property Trust news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total transaction of $120,132.69. Following the transaction, the director owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,880,443.76. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on STWD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Monday, April 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starwood Property Trust has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.80.

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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