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

Key Points

• Analysts give Starwood Property Trust a consensus “Hold” rating (4 holds, 3 buys) with an average 12‑month target of $19.80.
• The company authorized a $400 million share buyback (up to 6.1% of shares) and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.48 (annualized yield ~10.6%), though the payout ratio is a high 165.5%.
• Recent quarter: EPS of $0.42 beat estimates by $0.01 and revenue of $492.95M was up 8.5% YoY and beat expectations; the stock trades around $18.15 with a market cap of $6.73B and a P/E of 15.6.

Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.80.

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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 restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:STWD opened at $18.15 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $17.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.12. Starwood Property Trust has a twelve month low of $16.90 and a twelve month high of $21.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

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

Starwood Property Trust announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding 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 plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust's payout ratio is 165.52%.

Insider Activity at Starwood Property Trust

In other news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,880,443.76. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STWD. 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors 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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