Leeward Investments LLC MA Reduces Stock Holdings in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Leeward Investments LLC MA lowered its position in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,213,296 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 31,287 shares during the quarter. Starwood Property Trust accounts for approximately 1.1% of Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Leeward Investments LLC MA owned 0.33% of Starwood Property Trust worth $21,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 106.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co increased its position 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Starwood Property Trust

In other news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.13, for a total transaction of $120,132.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 168,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,880,443.76. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE STWD opened at $17.17 on Friday. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.90 and a 12 month high of $21.05. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.73 and a 200-day moving average of $18.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $6.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.02.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $205.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $400.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 6.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.2%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 200.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

STWD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Starwood Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.70.

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.