GFS Advisors LLC Buys 108,980 Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Key Points

• GFS Advisors LLC more than doubled its stake in Starwood Property Trust, buying 108,980 additional shares in the fourth quarter and lifting its holding to 206,795 shares valued at about $3.7 million.
• Institutional interest in STWD remains significant, with hedge funds and other institutions owning about 49.82% of the company. Several firms also increased positions, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a $19.70 price target.
• Starwood Property Trust recently reported mixed results, missing earnings and revenue estimates for the quarter, but it also pays a high dividend yield of 11.2% and has authorized a $400 million share buyback program.

GFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) by 111.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 206,795 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 108,980 shares during the period. GFS Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Starwood Property Trust worth $3,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Starwood Property Trust by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 62,305 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,122,000 after buying an additional 29,180 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 784,103 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,122,000 after buying an additional 92,851 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $1,523,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 111,071 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,000,000 after acquiring an additional 22,477 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on STWD. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 report on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.70.

Insider Transactions at Starwood Property Trust

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 value of $120,132.69. Following the sale, the director directly owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,880,443.76. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of STWD opened at $17.16 on Wednesday. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.76 and a 52-week high of $21.05. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $17.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.98.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 18.11% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The company had revenue of $205.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $496.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 200.00%.

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

Starwood Property Trust Company 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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