Jeffrey Dishner Sells 7,013 Shares of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Stock

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Director Jeffrey Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total value of $120,132.69. Following the transaction, the director owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,880,443.76. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Up 0.0%

Starwood Property Trust stock opened at $17.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.59 and a one year high of $21.05. The stock has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.05.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $492.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to buy up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 165.52%.

Institutional Trading of Starwood Property Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 7.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,976,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $638,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,085 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,406,419 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $115,453,000 after buying an additional 148,740 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,387,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $104,353,000 after buying an additional 64,178 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,177,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 157.3% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,702,935 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $66,690,000 after buying an additional 2,263,856 shares in the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, March 6th. 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 lowered their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starwood Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.