Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.25.

Several research firms have issued reports on STWD. JMP Securities dropped their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Starwood Property Trust from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $20.50 to $22.50 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $19.50 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Starwood Property Trust stock opened at $19.50 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.83. Starwood Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $18.43 and a fifty-two week high of $22.29. The firm has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 18.82% and a return on equity of 9.93%. The company had revenue of $479.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $488.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.85%. Starwood Property Trust’s payout ratio is 164.10%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 0.9% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 57,077 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 26,278 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 26.0% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,572 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 0.4% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 160,815 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,044,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 3.4% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 22,466 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares during 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, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Commercial and Residential Lending, Infrastructure Lending, Property, and Investing and Servicing segments. The Commercial and Residential Lending segment originates, acquires, finances, and manages commercial first mortgages, non-agency residential mortgages, subordinated mortgages, mezzanine loans, preferred equity, commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS), and residential mortgage-backed securities, as well as other real estate and real estate-related debt investments, include distressed or non-performing loans.