Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.19.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on STWD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $22.50 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities reduced their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:STWD opened at $19.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.82. Starwood Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $18.12 and a fifty-two week high of $21.19.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $479.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $488.63 million. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 9.93%. The company’s revenue was down 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.90%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 164.10%.

Institutional Trading of Starwood Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,109,988 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $43,002,000 after purchasing an additional 116,182 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 147.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 225,245 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,590,000 after buying an additional 134,121 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 66.7% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 224,962 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,585,000 after acquiring an additional 90,046 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the third quarter worth $2,250,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC increased its position in Starwood Property Trust by 128.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 66,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,360,000 after acquiring an additional 37,554 shares during the period. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.