Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Sets New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) reached a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $16.71 and last traded at $16.6370, with a volume of 2888095 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on STWD shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on 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. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.51 and its 200-day moving average is $17.87.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $205.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $496.25 million. Starwood Property Trust had a net margin of 18.11% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.5%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 200.00%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey G. Dishner sold 7,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,880,443.76. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 5.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in STWD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 7.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,976,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $638,752,000 after buying an additional 2,193,085 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 589,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,412,000 after acquiring an additional 96,484 shares during the period. Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 286.1% during the 3rd quarter. Argosy Lionbridge Management LLC now owns 102,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,987,000 after acquiring an additional 76,000 shares in the last quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth $2,617,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Starwood Property Trust by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 647,024 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,533,000 after purchasing an additional 173,462 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.