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

Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) was the target of a large drop in short interest in 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. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,200,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.9 days.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:STWD traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.10. 1,838,790 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,219,194. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.18 and a beta of 1.68. Starwood Property Trust has a 12-month low of $18.12 and a 12-month high of $21.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.61, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.80.

Starwood Property Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.55%. Starwood Property Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 174.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on STWD. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Starwood Property Trust from $22.50 to $22.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.21.

Institutional Trading of Starwood Property Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in STWD. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the third quarter valued at about $233,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 11.9% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,468 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,537 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Starwood Property Trust by 47.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 84,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 27,431 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Starwood Property Trust by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 98,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 3,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Starwood Property Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

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.