Short Interest in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Drops By 13.0%

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 11,076,150 shares, a decrease of 13.0% from the December 31st total of 12,737,185 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,250,428 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,250,428 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

STWD has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research raised Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.63.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of STWD traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $18.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 487,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,715,376. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.97. Starwood Property Trust has a 52-week low of $16.59 and a 52-week high of $21.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The company has a market cap of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 1.13.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $247.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $479.70 million. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 182.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of STWD. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Starwood Property Trust by 106.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 154.4% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,496 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. 49.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Starwood Property Trust Company Profile

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.