JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Price Target to $19.00

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $20.00 to $19.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

STWD has been the topic of several other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.50 to $20.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.80.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

Starwood Property Trust stock opened at $18.15 on Thursday. Starwood Property Trust has a 12-month low of $16.90 and a 12-month high of $21.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $17.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.01. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 22.32% and a return on equity of 8.16%. The company had revenue of $492.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $469.53 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to repurchase up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total value of $120,132.69. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 70.1% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 36,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $720,000 after buying an additional 15,001 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 23.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 19,606 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 3,784 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 99.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 7,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 3,721 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 42.7% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,535 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 1,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 3.3% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 113,306 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,274,000 after buying an additional 3,577 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

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.