Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.70.

STWD has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STWD. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 737,047 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,571,000 after buying an additional 2,993 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $925,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 73.1% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 85,774 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,696,000 after buying an additional 36,209 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 68.2% during the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 76,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,511,000 after buying an additional 31,000 shares during the period. Finally, Pinion Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 120.9% during the 1st quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 56,482 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,117,000 after buying an additional 30,908 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE STWD opened at $20.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.90. Starwood Property Trust has a 1 year low of $16.59 and a 1 year high of $21.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.14 and its 200-day moving average is $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $444.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.00 million. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 20.58% and a return on equity of 8.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.6%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 176.15%.

Starwood Property Trust Company Profile

Starwood Property Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Commercial and Residential Lending, Infrastructure Lending, Property, and Investing and Servicing segments. The Commercial and Residential Lending segment originates, acquires, finances, and manages commercial first mortgages, non-agency residential mortgages, subordinated mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and residential mortgage-backed securities, as well as other real estate and real estate-related debt investments, include distressed or non-performing loans.