Columbus Macro LLC Buys 44,954 Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Columbus Macro LLC raised its stake in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 498,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,954 shares during the quarter. Columbus Macro LLC owned about 0.13% of Starwood Property Trust worth $8,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of STWD. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 70.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 36,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 15,001 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,606 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 3,784 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 46,782 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $939,000 after purchasing an additional 7,142 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 669,878 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,444,000 after purchasing an additional 24,082 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 34,556 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 3,874 shares in the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE STWD opened at $17.05 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.59 and a fifty-two week high of $21.05.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.01. Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 22.32%.The company had revenue of $492.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. Starwood Property Trust’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 165.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on STWD shares. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.90.

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.