Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on STWD. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Starwood Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starwood Property Trust has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:STWD opened at $16.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $6.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $16.87 and a 200-day moving average of $17.57. Starwood Property Trust has a one year low of $16.29 and a one year high of $20.84.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $205.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.6%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 200.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STWD. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 70.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 36,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 15,001 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 23.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,606 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 3,784 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 99.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 3,721 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 42.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,535 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,657 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,274,000 after purchasing an additional 3,577 shares in the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.