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

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

Starwood Property Trust Trading Up 0.3 %

STWD stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $19.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,736,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,218,723. The firm has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 1.68. 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 has a 1-year low of $18.12 and a 1-year high of $21.17. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.81.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.60%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 174.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starwood Property Trust

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 86.1% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,578 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 69.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,746 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 83.2% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on STWD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.50 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $19.50 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.21.

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.