Norges Bank Buys New Shares in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Key Points

• Norges Bank opened a new position in Starwood Property Trust, buying 4.17 million shares valued at about $75.2 million and ending with roughly 1.13% ownership.
• Other institutional investors also increased or initiated stakes, including Vanguard and Advisors Capital Management, while hedge funds and institutions now hold about 49.82% of the stock.
• Starwood Property Trust has faced mixed signals: its latest earnings missed estimates, analysts currently rate it a Hold on average, and the company continues a $400 million share buyback alongside a high dividend yield of 11.3%.

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,174,202 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $75,177,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.13% of Starwood Property Trust as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of STWD. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 157.3% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 2,263,856 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 7.1% in 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 buying an additional 2,193,085 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $20,457,000. HRT Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 315.4% in the 2nd quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 713,415 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $14,318,000 after buying an additional 541,672 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,490,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Starwood Property Trust

In related news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total transaction of $120,132.69. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,880,443.76. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

STWD opened at $17.04 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $17.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31. The company has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.98. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.78 and a 52-week high of $21.05.

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

Starwood Property Trust announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors 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 11.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 200.00%.

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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