Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starwood Property Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.63.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of STWD stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $18.03. The company had a trading volume of 1,488,501 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,923,521. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. Starwood Property Trust has a one year low of $16.59 and a one year high of $21.05. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.21.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 20.28%.The company had revenue of $247.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 182.86%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of STWD. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 250,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,023,000 after purchasing an additional 20,703 shares during the last quarter. Grassi Investment Management grew its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 168.1% in the second quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 95,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 124.4% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,102,847 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,060,000 after buying an additional 611,303 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 137,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,382,338 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,744,000 after buying an additional 25,624 shares in the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.