Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts currently rate Starwood Property Trust as a “Hold.” Among seven firms covering the stock, four have buy ratings, two hold, and one sell, with an average 1-year price target of $19.70.
• The stock has been under pressure recently. STWD opened at $16.84, near its 1-year low of $16.76, and it fell 1.3% in the session highlighted by the article.
• Recent financial and capital-return updates were mixed. The company missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, but it continues paying a high dividend yield of 11.4% and authorized a $400 million share repurchase plan.

Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.70.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Starwood Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Zacks Research lowered Starwood Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Down 1.3%

STWD stock opened at $16.84 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.99. Starwood Property Trust has a 1-year low of $16.76 and a 1-year high of $21.05. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $17.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.91.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). The business 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 revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.4%. Starwood Property Trust's payout ratio is 200.00%.

Starwood Property Trust announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions 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 value of $120,132.69. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 5.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Starwood Property Trust

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 106.1% in 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 during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 154.4% in 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 during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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