New York Life Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 31,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $569,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 106.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 154.4% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,496 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. 49.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Starwood Property Trust

In related news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total value of $120,132.69. Following the transaction, the director owned 168,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,880,443.76. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on STWD. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Starwood Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Starwood Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Up 1.9%

STWD opened at $17.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.99. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.81 and a one year high of $21.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $205.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $496.25 million. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 18.11% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

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

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.2%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 200.00%.

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.