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

Key Points

• Starwood Property Trust has a consensus analyst rating of “Hold” from seven brokerages, with four buys, two holds, and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $19.70.
• The company recently missed earnings expectations, reporting $0.39 EPS versus the expected $0.42, and revenue came in well below estimates at $205.55 million versus $496.25 million.
• Starwood also authorized a $400 million share repurchase plan and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 11.4%.

Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.70.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Starwood Property Trust from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of STWD 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 stock has a market cap of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.91. Starwood Property Trust has a 12-month low of $16.76 and a 12-month high of $21.05.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business's revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

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

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 that occurred on 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 sale, the director directly owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,880,443.76. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 7.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,976,364 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $638,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,085 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 19.6% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 589,169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,412,000 after acquiring an additional 96,484 shares in the last quarter. Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 286.1% in the third quarter. Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC now owns 102,566 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,987,000 after acquiring an additional 76,000 shares in the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $2,617,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 36.6% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 647,024 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,533,000 after acquiring an additional 173,462 shares in the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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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