Virtu Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC opened a new position in Starwood Property Trust during the fourth quarter, buying 72,206 shares worth about $1.3 million. Several other hedge funds also adjusted their STWD holdings, and institutional investors now own 49.82% of the stock.
• Starwood Property Trust reported mixed quarterly results, with earnings of $0.39 per share missing expectations and revenue coming in well below estimates, though revenue still rose 22.5% year over year. Analysts currently have an average Hold rating on the stock with a target price of about $19.70.
• The company approved a $400 million share buyback and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 11.5%. Shares recently traded near $16.70, close to the stock’s 52-week low.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 72,206 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,300,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in STWD. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 62,528 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 16,690 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $103,000. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,087,000. SummitTX Capital L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 439.5% in the fourth quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 219,231 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,948,000 after acquiring an additional 178,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 127.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 9,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $120,132.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 168,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,880,443.76. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on STWD. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Starwood Property Trust from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Friday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Four 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of Starwood Property Trust stock opened at $16.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's 50-day moving average is $17.47 and its 200-day moving average is $17.84. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.61 and a one year high of $21.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

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 earnings per share 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 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.5%. Starwood Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 200.00%.

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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