Essex Financial Services Inc. Acquires New Stake in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD)

Essex Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,589 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of STWD. Norges Bank bought a new position in Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,447,000. Waterfront Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $15,997,000. NFC Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $13,237,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $9,276,000. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in Starwood Property Trust by 836.9% in the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 437,819 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,203,000 after buying an additional 391,087 shares during the last quarter. 49.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Starwood Property Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:STWD opened at $20.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99 and a beta of 1.69. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.07 and a 1-year high of $22.29. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.84.

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 10.03%. Starwood Property Trust’s quarterly revenue was down 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Research analysts expect that Starwood Property Trust, Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on STWD shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $20.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $20.00 to $20.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Starwood Property Trust from $23.50 to $23.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Starwood Property Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starwood Property Trust has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.79.

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.