Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. $STWD

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 51,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $929,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 11.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 2.3% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 27,220 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 621 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 36,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 8,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 2.4% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 30,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $597,000 after buying an additional 725 shares during the period. 49.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Starwood Property Trust from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starwood Property Trust has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.70.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction, the director owned 168,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,880,443.76. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 5.80% of the company’s stock.

Starwood Property Trust Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE STWD opened at $17.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.59 and a 200 day moving average of $17.94. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $16.81 and a 1 year high of $21.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.31, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last posted its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $205.55 million for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 200.00%.

Starwood Property Trust declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $400.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the real estate investment trust to buy up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Starwood Property Trust 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.