JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Price Target to $19.00

Key Points

• JPMorgan cut its price target on Starwood Property Trust to $19.00 (from $20.00) but kept an "overweight" rating, implying about a 5.6% upside from the prior close.
• Starwood slightly beat quarterly expectations with $0.42 EPS and $492.95M revenue, and its board approved a $400 million buyback plan to repurchase up to 6.1% of shares.
• The consensus analyst view is a "Hold" with an average target of $19.80; the stock recently traded at about $18.00 (market cap ~$6.67B, P/E ~15.5).

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $20.00 to $19.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target suggests a potential upside of 5.58% from the company's previous close.

STWD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised Starwood Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Starwood Property Trust currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.80.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

STWD traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $18.00. 1,658,499 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,480,479. The business's 50 day moving average price is $17.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.05. Starwood Property Trust has a 1 year low of $16.90 and a 1 year high of $21.05.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $492.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.53 million. Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 22.32%.Starwood Property Trust's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its board has approved 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 purchase up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the company'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. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 106.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,449 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 154.4% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,496 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company's stock.

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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