HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,342,321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 177,281 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Starwood Property Trust were worth $45,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in STWD. WJ Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $464,000. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 13.5% in the third quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 16,382 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,946 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 919,931 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,819,000 after buying an additional 48,708 shares during the last quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 3.3% during the third quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 199,463 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,864,000 after acquiring an additional 6,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 7.1% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 91,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,773,000 after buying an additional 6,063 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Up 0.1%

STWD stock opened at $18.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.85. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.59 and a fifty-two week high of $21.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on STWD. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.63.

Starwood Property Trust 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.