Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Buys 800 Shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD) by 80.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Starwood Property Trust were worth $37,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of STWD. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Starwood Property Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Starwood Property Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Jeffrey F. Dimodica sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.28, for a total transaction of $2,028,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 1,226,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,876,928.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

Starwood Property Trust Stock Performance

STWD opened at $19.34 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.07. The company has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.68. Starwood Property Trust, Inc. has a 1 year low of $17.07 and a 1 year high of $22.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 2.49 and a quick ratio of 2.49.

Starwood Property Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.93%. Starwood Property Trust’s payout ratio is 138.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STWD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. BTIG Research lowered their price target on Starwood Property Trust from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $21.00 to $20.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $21.50 target price (down from $22.50) on shares of Starwood Property Trust in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on Starwood Property Trust from $23.50 to $23.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.88.

Starwood Property Trust 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.