Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 51,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $929,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 106.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 154.4% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,496 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Starwood Property Trust

In related news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 168,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,880,443.76. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on STWD. Zacks Research cut shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE STWD opened at $17.10 on Friday. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $16.81 and a 12-month high of $21.05. The stock has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.59 and a 200 day moving average of $17.94.

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 the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $205.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 200.00%.

Starwood Property Trust Company Profile

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.