Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) Short Interest Down 21.7% in February

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 10,860,000 shares, a drop of 21.7% from the February 13th total of 13,870,000 shares. Currently, 3.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $233,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,468 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Starwood Property Trust by 47.9% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 84,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,726,000 after buying an additional 27,431 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Starwood Property Trust by 3.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 98,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after buying an additional 3,107 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the third quarter valued at $237,000. 49.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on STWD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $22.50 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.21.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

STWD traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $20.10. 1,838,790 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,219,194. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 1.68. Starwood Property Trust has a 1-year low of $18.12 and a 1-year high of $21.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 174.55%.

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.