Starwood Property Trust Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:STWD)

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 21,206 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 998% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,932 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on STWD shares. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.90.

Institutional Trading of Starwood Property Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 14.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,235 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 3.5% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 47,432 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $854,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 11.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 27,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

STWD stock opened at $17.80 on Wednesday. Starwood Property Trust 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.56.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $492.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.53 million. Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 22.32%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding 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 board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.8%. Starwood Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 165.52%.

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.