Starwood Property Trust Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:STWD)

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 4,237 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 57% compared to the average daily volume of 2,705 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on STWD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.50 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $19.00 to $19.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starwood Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.83.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of STWD traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $20.13. The company had a trading volume of 518,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,431,024. The firm has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.46 and a 200-day moving average of $19.50. Starwood Property Trust has a 12 month low of $16.59 and a 12 month high of $21.17.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 9th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $418.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.00 million. Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 8.87% and a net margin of 17.26%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 30th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.54%. Starwood Property Trust’s payout ratio is presently 202.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,943,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $586,375,000 after purchasing an additional 377,939 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 3.6% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,479,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,326,000 after buying an additional 192,283 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,044,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in Starwood Property Trust by 5.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,719,027 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $53,755,000 after buying an additional 141,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Starwood Property Trust by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,669,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $50,593,000 after buying an additional 10,979 shares in the last quarter. 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.