Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Starwood Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Starwood Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE STWD opened at $16.91 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $17.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. Starwood Property Trust has a one year low of $16.78 and a one year high of $21.05. The company has a market capitalization of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.98.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $205.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 reacquire up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.4%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 200.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the 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 owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,880,443.76. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Starwood Property Trust

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 106.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 154.4% during the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,496 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 49.82% 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.