Insider Selling: Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Director Sells $120,132.69 in Stock

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Director Jeffrey Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total value of $120,132.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,880,443.76. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:STWD opened at $17.23 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.59 and a 12-month high of $21.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.05.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $492.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to buy up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s payout ratio is 165.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 764,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,764,000 after buying an additional 141,046 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $505,000. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $828,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the fourth quarter worth about $1,300,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 62,528 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 16,690 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on STWD shares. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starwood Property Trust currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.90.

About Starwood Property Trust

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.