Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 83,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,757,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 52.7% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,734 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 85.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,210 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE STWD opened at $19.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88 and a beta of 1.65. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $16.06 and a one year high of $22.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $19.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.92.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.03%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 179.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total transaction of $508,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 925,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,825,254.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.33, for a total value of $508,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 925,984 shares in the company, valued at $18,825,254.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total value of $2,028,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 1,226,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,876,928.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on STWD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $21.50 price objective (down from $22.50) on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Monday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Starwood Property Trust has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.71.

Starwood Property Trust Company Profile

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.