Wells Fargo & Company Increases Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Price Target to $24.00

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $22.00 to $24.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Starwood Property Trust from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their target price for the company from $20.50 to $22.50 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Starwood Property Trust in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a peer perform rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $20.50 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $22.36.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:STWD opened at $20.85 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $20.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The company has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 1.70. Starwood Property Trust has a 12-month low of $17.07 and a 12-month high of $22.29.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $489.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $505.23 million. Starwood Property Trust had a return on equity of 10.03% and a net margin of 17.05%. Starwood Property Trust’s revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 138.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 21.7% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 60,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 10,733 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $244,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $2,788,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 9.0% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 364,922 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,912,000 after purchasing an additional 30,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. 49.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.