Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Given New $20.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) had its target price decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $20.50 to $20.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on STWD. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.13.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:STWD opened at $18.00 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $18.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.73. 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 $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 1.10.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $492.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $469.53 million. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 22.32% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. Analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

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

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.7%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 165.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STWD. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the second quarter worth $692,415,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 7.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 2.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 148,740 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position 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 valued at $104,353,000 after purchasing an additional 64,178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,177,000. 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.