Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,410,000 shares, an increase of 27.3% from the March 15th total of 12,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,580,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.0 days. Currently, 4.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on STWD. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $19.50 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starwood Property Trust has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.86.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Starwood Property Trust stock opened at $18.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $19.47 and its 200 day moving average is $19.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. Starwood Property Trust has a one year low of $16.59 and a one year high of $21.17.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.34%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 174.55%.

Institutional Trading of Starwood Property Trust

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 86.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,578 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 69.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,746 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 83.2% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

About Starwood Property Trust

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.