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

Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.71.

Several analysts have weighed in on STWD shares. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $21.50 price target (down from $22.50) on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research cut their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of STWD opened at $19.02 on Friday. Starwood Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $16.06 and a fifty-two week high of $22.29. The firm has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 1.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $19.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.09%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 179.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 100,000 shares of Starwood Property Trust stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $2,028,000.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 1,226,673 shares in the company, valued at $24,876,928.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Starwood Property Trust news, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $2,028,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 1,226,673 shares in the company, valued at $24,876,928.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 25,000 shares of Starwood Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total value of $508,250.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 925,984 shares in the company, valued at $18,825,254.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of STWD. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Starwood Property Trust by 54.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 29,655,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $524,608,000 after purchasing an additional 10,468,050 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 83.4% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,584,507 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $155,952,000 after acquiring an additional 3,902,840 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,447,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 84.8% in the third quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,941,284 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $56,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 40.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,369,763 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $91,852,000 after buying an additional 1,248,428 shares during the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.