Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Price Target to $19.50

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered its price target on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50, while keeping an outperform rating. The new target still implies about 14% upside from the prior close.
• Starwood Property Trust shares were trading around $17.10, near the lower end of their 52-week range of $16.90 to $21.05. The stock also remains below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company recently reported mixed quarterly results, missing EPS and revenue expectations, even though revenue rose 22.5% year over year. It also announced a $400 million share repurchase program, which could signal management sees the stock as undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $20.00 to $19.50 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the real estate investment trust's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.07% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Starwood Property Trust from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Bank of America reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

Starwood Property Trust stock traded down $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.10. The company had a trading volume of 781,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,312,858. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $17.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.57. 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 quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.03). Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 18.11% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The company had revenue of $205.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $496.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 buy up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Starwood Property Trust

In other news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Starwood Property Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 8.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 29,758 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 5.0% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 151,774 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,614,000 after acquiring an additional 7,266 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 696,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,991,000 after acquiring an additional 8,700 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,157,515 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,932,000 after acquiring an additional 240,312 shares during the period. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 88,582 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,525,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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