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

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) had its price objective increased 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.

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

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

STWD stock opened at $20.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a quick ratio of 1.84 and a current ratio of 1.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $20.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.75. The firm has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 1.70. Starwood Property Trust has a 1 year low of $17.07 and a 1 year high of $22.29.

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

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Starwood Property Trust’s payout ratio is currently 138.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $244,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the second quarter worth about $2,788,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 9.0% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 364,922 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,912,000 after buying an additional 30,029 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 57,077 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. 49.82% of the stock is currently 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.