Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Starwood Property Trust stake by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 143,237 shares and leaving it with 521,482 shares valued at about $9.39 million.
• Starwood Property Trust reported first-quarter results that missed expectations, with EPS of $0.39 versus $0.42 expected and revenue of $205.55 million versus $496.25 million estimated, though revenue still rose 22.5% year over year.
• The REIT maintained a large dividend and buyback plan, paying a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share and authorizing up to $400 million in share repurchases, while analysts’ views remain mixed with a consensus rating of Hold.

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 521,482 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 143,237 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.14% of Starwood Property Trust worth $9,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 20,497 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $929,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $328,000. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 81,040 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,460,000 after purchasing an additional 4,614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 21,990 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.82% of the company's stock.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of STWD stock opened at $17.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.92. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.78 and a 12-month high of $21.05.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $205.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend yield of 11.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 200.00%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on STWD. Zacks Research lowered Starwood Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Friday, March 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starwood Property Trust news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total value of $120,132.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,880,443.76. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.80% of the company's stock.

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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