HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Position in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors increased its Starwood Property Trust position by 8.8% in the second quarter, adding 246,741 shares to own 3.05 million shares valued at approximately $49.9 million.
• Starwood Property Trust reported quarterly EPS of $0.40, matching analyst expectations, while revenue rose 15.6% year over year. The company paid a $0.48 quarterly dividend, equating to a 11.9% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $19.20 target price, compared with the stock’s reported trading price of $16.12; institutional investors own 49.82% of the shares.

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) by 8.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,046,542 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 246,741 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.82% of Starwood Property Trust worth $49,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 293.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,954 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the second quarter worth about $33,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 66.6% in the first quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,493 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 1,605.0% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 3,410 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 3,210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.82% of the company's stock.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE STWD opened at $16.12 on Tuesday. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.48 and a 12 month high of $20.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The company has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $16.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.09.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.40. The company had revenue of $201.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $521.67 million. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The company's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Starwood Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 325.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

STWD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $20.00 price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.20.

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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