Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 2,993 Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 737,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,993 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Starwood Property Trust worth $14,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,943,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $586,375,000 after purchasing an additional 377,939 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,287,030 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $100,189,000 after purchasing an additional 736,699 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $63,044,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth about $48,841,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,153,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,801,000 after purchasing an additional 43,109 shares during the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of STWD stock opened at $20.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.04 and a 200-day moving average of $19.57. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.59 and a one year high of $21.17.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 9th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 8.87%. The business had revenue of $418.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.00 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.20%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 202.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $19.50 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Starwood Property Trust Profile

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.