Legal & General Group Plc Purchases New Stake in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc purchased 448,903 shares of Starwood Property Trust, valued at approximately $7.35 million, representing a 0.12% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 49.82% of the REIT.
• Starwood reported quarterly EPS of $0.40, matching analyst estimates, while revenue rose 15.6% year over year to $201.42 million. The company declared a $0.48 quarterly dividend, implying a 12.1% annualized yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a $19.20 price target versus the stock’s reported $15.83 price; several firms recently lowered their targets to $18.50.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 448,903 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $7,353,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.12% of Starwood Property Trust as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 154.4% during 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 last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 293.2% during the 2nd 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. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 1,605.0% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 3,410 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 169.2% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,266 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.82% of the company's stock.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE STWD opened at $15.83 on Thursday. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $15.48 and a 1 year 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $16.40 and a 200 day moving average of $17.13. The stock has a market cap of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.98.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The business had revenue of $201.42 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $521.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Starwood Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 325.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STWD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a 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 report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.20.

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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