Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.70.

STWD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of STWD stock opened at $16.81 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $17.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.88. Starwood Property Trust has a 12 month low of $16.76 and a 12 month high of $21.05. The company has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 18.11%.The firm had revenue of $205.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Starwood Property Trust’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current 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 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other 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 sale, the director directly owned 168,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,880,443.76. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norris Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $280,000. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 265,990 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,580,000 after acquiring an additional 12,356 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 82,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 20,240 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 67.7% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 34,743 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 14,021 shares during the period. 49.82% of the stock is 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.