Analysts Set Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Price Target at $19.90

Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.90.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on STWD shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 26th.

Institutional Trading of Starwood Property Trust

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STWD. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its stake 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 buying an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

Starwood Property Trust stock opened at $17.05 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $17.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.41. Starwood Property Trust has a one year low of $16.59 and a one year high of $21.05.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.01. Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 22.32%.The firm had revenue of $492.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.53 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 165.52%.

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.