Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 148,740 Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 148,740 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 6.4 million shares worth about $115.5 million.
• Starwood Property Trust reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings of $0.39 per share missing estimates and revenue coming in well below expectations, even though revenue rose 22.5% from a year earlier.
• The company continues to support shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share and a newly approved $400 million share repurchase plan, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $19.70 price target.

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,406,419 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 148,740 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 1.73% of Starwood Property Trust worth $115,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of STWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 106.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,449 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the period. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starwood Property Trust news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the 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 directly owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,880,443.76. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of STWD opened at $17.04 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $17.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.91. The company has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.78 and a 1-year high of $21.05.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $205.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $496.25 million. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 18.11% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 200.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on STWD shares. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.70.

About Starwood Property Trust

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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