Leeward Investments LLC MA Trims Stake in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Leeward Investments LLC MA lowered its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,177,955 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 35,341 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in Starwood Property Trust were worth $20,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of STWD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,976,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $638,752,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193,085 shares in the last quarter. Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 286.1% during the third quarter. Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC now owns 102,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,987,000 after purchasing an additional 76,000 shares in the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,617,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 36.6% in the third quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 647,024 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,533,000 after purchasing an additional 173,462 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the third quarter worth $1,680,000. 49.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STWD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Starwood Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starwood Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

Starwood Property Trust stock opened at $16.75 on Wednesday. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a twelve month low of $16.61 and a twelve month high of $21.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31. The company has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $17.43 and its 200 day moving average is $17.81.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 18.11% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The company had revenue of $205.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.5%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 200.00%.

Starwood Property Trust announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the real estate investment trust to purchase up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of Starwood Property Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,880,443.76. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 corporate insiders.

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.