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

Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.6250.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on STWD shares. Zacks Research raised Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Up 1.4%

STWD stock opened at $18.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Starwood Property Trust has a 12 month low of $16.59 and a 12 month high of $21.05.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The company had revenue of $247.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 182.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $692,415,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,976,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $638,752,000 after buying an additional 2,193,085 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 1.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,387,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $104,353,000 after acquiring an additional 64,178 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its position in Starwood Property Trust by 157.3% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,702,935 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,690,000 after acquiring an additional 2,263,856 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the second quarter worth about $71,492,000. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Starwood Property Trust

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.