Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Sells 182,961 Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Key Points

• Valley Wealth Managers Inc. cut its Starwood Property Trust stake by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 182,961 shares and ending with 917,203 shares valued at about $16.5 million.
• Starwood Property Trust reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.39 versus the $0.42 estimate and revenue of $205.55 million versus the $496.25 million consensus.
• Analysts remain mixed on STWD: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating with a $19.80 price target, while the shares also trade near their 52-week low after falling 2.7% in recent trading.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. trimmed its position in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) by 16.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 917,203 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 182,961 shares during the quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. owned 0.25% of Starwood Property Trust worth $16,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 157.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,263,856 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 7.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,193,085 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,457,000. HRT Financial LP increased its position in Starwood Property Trust by 315.4% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,490,000. Institutional investors own 49.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starwood Property Trust

In related 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 transaction of $120,132.69. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,880,443.76. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Zacks Research upgraded Starwood Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.80.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Down 2.7%

NYSE:STWD opened at $17.27 on Tuesday. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.90 and a fifty-two week high of $21.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.57. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $17.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.06.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $205.55 million for 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 company's revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

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

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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