Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (STWD) – What Are Researchers Saying About This Stock?

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $18.70.

Several research firms have weighed in on STWD. Wells Fargo & Company set a $20.00 target price on Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Starwood Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $19.00 to $18.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 293.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 66.6% during the 1st quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 1,605.0% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 3,410 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of STWD opened at $12.45 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $14.94 and its 200-day moving average is $16.34. Starwood Property Trust has a 12 month low of $12.27 and a 12 month high of $18.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.01.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40. Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.85% and a net margin of 11.35%. The firm had revenue of $201.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $521.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.40 EPS for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 15.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 325.42%.

About Starwood Property Trust

Starwood Property Trust, Inc (NYSE: STWD) is a real estate investment trust focused on commercial real estate finance. The company originates, acquires, finances and manages a range of real estate debt investments, including senior and subordinate mortgages, mezzanine loans, and other credit investments secured by commercial properties.

Its business also includes commercial real estate lending and servicing, residential lending, and infrastructure lending. Through these activities, Starwood Property Trust provides financing to property owners, developers and other real estate participants across multiple property types, including office, multifamily, industrial, hospitality and other commercial assets.

Founded in 2009, the company operates primarily in the United States and has also pursued lending and investment opportunities in Europe and other select international markets.