Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $16.71 and last traded at $16.6370, with a volume of 2888095 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on STWD shares. UBS Group started coverage on Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Zacks Research lowered Starwood Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.49 and a 200 day moving average of $17.84. The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.03). Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 18.11% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The company had revenue of $205.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.5%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 200.00%.

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

Insider Transactions at Starwood Property Trust

In other Starwood Property Trust news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of Starwood Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total transaction of $120,132.69. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Starwood Property Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STWD. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC lifted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 882,760.9% in the first quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 112,176,302 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,931,676,000 after acquiring an additional 112,163,596 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth $75,177,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 157.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 3,702,935 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $66,690,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263,856 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 7.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,976,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $638,752,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,085 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $20,457,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.