145,320 Shares in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD Purchased by GraniteShares Advisors LLC

GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 145,320 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $2,617,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STWD. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 70.1% during 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 buying an additional 15,001 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,606 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 3,784 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 95,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in Starwood Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $215,000. 49.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on STWD shares. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded 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 target price on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Starwood Property Trust

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 owned 168,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,880,443.76. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of STWD opened at $17.23 on Friday. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.59 and a 1 year high of $21.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $17.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.29. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.05.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 165.52%.

Starwood Property Trust announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.