Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Price Target to $20.00

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) had its price objective trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $20.50 to $20.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starwood Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $20.13.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

Starwood Property Trust stock opened at $18.10 on Monday. Starwood Property Trust has a 52 week low of $16.59 and a 52 week high of $21.05. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $18.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.71. The stock has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

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

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 165.52%.

Starwood Property Trust announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 purchase up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 70.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 36,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 15,001 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,606 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 3,784 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 492,685 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,888,000 after buying an additional 50,247 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 48,706 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 4,262.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,319 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 4,220 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

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.