Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 35,596 Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 766,609 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,596 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Starwood Property Trust worth $14,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $692,415,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $71,492,000. Boston Partners lifted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 124.4% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,102,847 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,060,000 after acquiring an additional 611,303 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 469.1% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 685,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,748,000 after acquiring an additional 564,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HRT Financial LP grew its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 315.4% in the second quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 713,415 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,318,000 after purchasing an additional 541,672 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Down 0.8%

Starwood Property Trust stock opened at $17.98 on Tuesday. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.59 and a one year high of $21.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.30 and a 200 day moving average of $18.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 182.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.63.

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.