HighTower Advisors LLC Has $29.81 Million Stock Position in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,655,008 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 687,313 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.45% of Starwood Property Trust worth $29,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in STWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 106.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 746 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 154.4% in 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 acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on STWD shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of 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. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $19.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a report on Friday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.70.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE STWD opened at $17.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.03, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.98. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.81 and a 12 month high of $21.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 18.11%.The firm had revenue of $205.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $496.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Starwood Property Trust’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.1%. Starwood Property Trust’s payout ratio is 200.00%.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $400.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the real estate investment trust to reacquire up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Starwood Property Trust

In other Starwood Property Trust 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 value of $120,132.69. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 168,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,880,443.76. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Starwood Property Trust Company Profile

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.