Jeffrey Dishner Sells 7,013 Shares of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Stock

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

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

Starwood Property Trust stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.23. 2,646,124 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,456,565. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 52-week low of $16.59 and a 52-week high of $21.05. The stock has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.84 and its 200 day moving average is $18.33.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.01. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 22.32% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The business had revenue of $492.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $469.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on STWD shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. 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 lowered 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 dropped their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Friday, March 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $638,752,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193,085 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 194.7% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 207,814 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,137,000 after purchasing an additional 137,294 shares during the last quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 36.0% during the third quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC now owns 281,728 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,457,000 after purchasing an additional 74,573 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 188.0% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 102,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 66,795 shares during the period. Finally, Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC grew its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 286.1% in 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 during the period. 49.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.