Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Starwood Property Trust has a consensus analyst rating of "Hold", with four hold ratings and three buy ratings among seven covering brokerages. The average 1-year price target is $19.70.
• The stock recently traded up 0.3% and opened at $17.17, near its 52-week low of $16.90 and below its 52-week high of $21.05. The company has a market cap of about $6.36 billion.
• Starwood reported quarterly earnings of $0.39 per share, missing estimates, while revenue came in well below expectations at $205.55 million. The company also pays a $0.48 quarterly dividend and has authorized a $400 million share buyback.

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.70.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on STWD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Starwood Property Trust from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Friday, March 6th.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Up 0.3%

Starwood Property Trust stock opened at $17.17 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.03. The company has a market capitalization of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.02. Starwood Property Trust has a 52 week low of $16.90 and a 52 week high of $21.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 18.11%.The business had revenue of $205.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Starwood Property Trust's quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.2%. Starwood Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is 200.00%.

Starwood Property Trust announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to buy up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starwood Property Trust news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total value of $120,132.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of STWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 106.1% in the fourth 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 raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. 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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