Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD Stock Position Reduced by Seven Grand Managers LLC

Key Points

• Seven Grand Managers LLC cut its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 50% in the fourth quarter, selling 500,000 shares and leaving it with 500,000 shares worth about $9.0 million.
• Starwood Property Trust posted mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $0.39 missing estimates and revenue of $205.55 million coming in well below expectations, even though revenue rose 22.5% year over year.
• The company continues to support shareholders through a $400 million share buyback and a $0.48 quarterly dividend, which annualizes to a high 11.1% yield.

Seven Grand Managers LLC cut its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 500,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 500,000 shares during the period. Seven Grand Managers LLC owned about 0.14% of Starwood Property Trust worth $9,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STWD. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its position in Starwood Property Trust by 157.3% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 2,263,856 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Starwood Property Trust by 7.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,976,364 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $638,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,085 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Starwood Property Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,457,000. HRT Financial LP grew its position in Starwood Property Trust by 315.4% during the second quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 713,415 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,318,000 after purchasing an additional 541,672 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in Starwood Property Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $8,490,000. 49.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

STWD stock opened at $17.32 on Thursday. 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 capitalization of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.02. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.81 and a 12 month high of $21.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $17.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.96.

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 EPS 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 the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust's payout ratio is currently 200.00%.

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 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 168,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,880,443.76. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.70.

About Starwood Property Trust

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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