Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 1,117,510 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the previous session’s volume of 2,170,208 shares.The stock last traded at $19.12 and had previously closed at $19.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $21.50 target price (down previously from $22.50) on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Monday, March 4th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $23.50 to $23.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.88.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 2.49. The company has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.65.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.08%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 138.13%.

Insider Transactions at Starwood Property Trust

In other news, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total transaction of $2,028,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,226,673 shares in the company, valued at $24,876,928.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 4.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 16,806 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 113.5% in the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 46,732 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $904,000 after purchasing an additional 24,841 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 26.0% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 2,505 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 5.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 54,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the period. Finally, Pinion Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 19.3% in the third quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,233 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,144 shares during the period. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Starwood Property Trust

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.