Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.70.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on STWD. Zacks Research cut shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:STWD opened at $16.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Starwood Property Trust has a 1-year low of $16.76 and a 1-year high of $21.05.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $205.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.25 million. Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 18.11%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to buy up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starwood Property Trust news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total transaction of $120,132.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,880,443.76. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peak Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 25,664 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 47,432 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $854,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 27,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 36,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

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.