Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 44,138 Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed its stake in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 48.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 44,138 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Starwood Property Trust were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 3.5% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 11.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 2.3% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 27,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 621 shares in the last quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 8,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corrado Advisors LLC grew its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 0.6% in the third quarter. Corrado Advisors LLC now owns 103,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,997,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on STWD. Zacks Research upgraded Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on 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. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.80.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:STWD opened at $18.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.90 and a 1-year high of $21.05.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $284.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $469.53 million. Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 8.16% and a net margin of 22.32%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.48 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 165.52%.

Starwood Property Trust announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $400.00 million in 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 programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of Starwood Property Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total transaction of $120,132.69. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 168,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,880,443.76. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

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.