Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Reaches New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD) hit a new 52-week low during Monday trading, falling to as low as $16.89 before ending near $17.07.
• Recent analyst updates have been mixed but generally cautious: several firms trimmed price targets, and the stock now carries a Hold consensus rating with a consensus target of $19.70.
• The company recently missed first-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, though it continues to pay a high dividend yield of about 11.2% and has a $400 million share buyback authorization in place.

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $16.89 and last traded at $17.0650, with a volume of 485427 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Starwood Property Trust from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Friday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Up 0.5%

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $17.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $205.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.25 million. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 18.11% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.2%. Starwood Property Trust's payout ratio is presently 200.00%.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starwood Property Trust 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 value of $120,132.69. Following the transaction, the director owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. 5.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of STWD. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Starwood Property Trust by 70.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 36,396 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 15,001 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 23.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,606 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 3,784 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 99.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 42.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,535 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 3.3% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,306 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,274,000 after acquiring an additional 3,577 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company's stock.

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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