Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) CEO Buys $9,885,300.00 in Stock

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) CEO Barry Sternlicht purchased 830,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.91 per share, for a total transaction of $9,885,300.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,083,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,903,544.11. This represents a 327.52% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of STWD traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $11.36. 7,261,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,604,194. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of -16.70, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.95, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.24. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $11.23 and a one year high of $18.66.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.04. Starwood Property Trust had a positive return on equity of 7.77% and a negative net margin of 11.35%. The company had revenue of $545.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $531.80 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Starwood Property Trust’s revenue for the quarter was down 22.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.9%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -282.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in STWD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $589,366,000. Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Starwood Property Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $70,121,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,046,542 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,902,000 after buying an additional 246,741 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,498,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,598,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,182,000 after buying an additional 174,156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STWD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Starwood Property Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Monday, October 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.10.

Starwood Property Trust Company Profile

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. is a real estate investment trust focused on commercial real estate finance and related investments. The company originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other debt investments secured by commercial properties, and also invests in commercial real estate and infrastructure-related lending. Founded in 2009, Starwood Property Trust operates primarily in the United States and also conducts business in international markets, including Europe and Australia.