Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 0.5% in Q4, selling 178,080 shares and now owns 32,798,284 shares—an 8.86% stake valued at about $590.7 million.
• Starwood's board approved a $400.0 million share repurchase program (up to 6.1% of shares) and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.48 (annualized $1.92), implying a 10.7% yield with a payout ratio of 165.5%.
• Fourth-quarter results showed EPS of $0.42 (beating by $0.01) while revenue of $284.5 million missed estimates but was up 8.5% YoY; analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $19.80.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,798,284 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 178,080 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 8.86% of Starwood Property Trust worth $590,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of STWD. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 210,699 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,795,000 after buying an additional 24,669 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 97,268 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,752,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 28,741 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,617,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 86,034 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,549,000 after buying an additional 7,608 shares in the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE STWD opened at $18.03 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.90 and a 52 week high of $21.05. The firm's fifty day moving average is $17.77 and its 200 day moving average is $18.08. The company has a market cap of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.02.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.01. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 22.32% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The company had revenue of $284.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 165.52%.

Insider Activity at Starwood Property Trust

In related news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of Starwood Property Trust stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on STWD shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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 note on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 report on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.80.

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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