Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Short Interest Up 27.3% in March

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,410,000 shares, a growth of 27.3% from the March 15th total of 12,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,580,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.0 days. Currently, 4.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $19.50 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.86.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 19,976 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 27,351 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 4,930 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 385,672 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,860,000 after buying an additional 15,198 shares during the period. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $192,000. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

STWD stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.91. 1,023,135 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,451,279. Starwood Property Trust has a twelve month low of $16.59 and a twelve month high of $21.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61. The company has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.54.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 174.55%.

About Starwood Property Trust

Starwood Property Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Commercial and Residential Lending, Infrastructure Lending, Property, and Investing and Servicing segments. The Commercial and Residential Lending segment originates, acquires, finances, and manages commercial first mortgages, non-agency residential mortgages, subordinated mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and residential mortgage-backed securities, as well as other real estate and real estate-related debt investments, include distressed or non-performing loans.