Sunrise Realty Trust (NASDAQ:SUNS) versus Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) Critical Analysis

Starwood Property Trust (NYSE:STWD) and Sunrise Realty Trust (NASDAQ:SUNS) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Starwood Property Trust and Sunrise Realty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Starwood Property Trust	0	3	5	1	2.78
Sunrise Realty Trust	0	0	1	0	3.00

Starwood Property Trust currently has a consensus target price of $22.13, indicating a potential upside of 11.85%. Sunrise Realty Trust has a consensus target price of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 27.01%. Given Sunrise Realty Trust’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sunrise Realty Trust is more favorable than Starwood Property Trust.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

49.8% of Starwood Property Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Starwood Property Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Starwood Property Trust and Sunrise Realty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Starwood Property Trust	18.82%	9.93%	1.00%
Sunrise Realty Trust	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Starwood Property Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.7%. Sunrise Realty Trust pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 14.2%. Starwood Property Trust pays out 164.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Starwood Property Trust and Sunrise Realty Trust”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Starwood Property Trust	$1.06 billion	6.31	$339.21 million	$1.17	16.91
Sunrise Realty Trust	$250,000.00	327.37	$230,000.00	N/A	N/A

Starwood Property Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Sunrise Realty Trust.

Summary

Starwood Property Trust beats Sunrise Realty Trust on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. The Infrastructure lending segment originates, acquires, finances, and manages infrastructure debt investments. The Property segment engages primarily in acquiring and managing equity interests in stabilized commercial real estate properties, such as multifamily properties and commercial properties subject to net leases, that are held for investment. The Investing and Servicing segment manages and works out problem assets; acquires and manages unrated, investment grade, and non-investment grade rated CMBS comprising subordinated interests of securitization and re-securitization transactions; originates conduit loans for the primary purpose of selling these loans into securitization transactions; and acquires commercial real estate assets that include properties acquired from CMBS trusts. The company qualifies as a REIT for federal income tax purposes and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.

About Sunrise Realty Trust

Sunrise Realty Trust, Inc. engages in commercial real estate (CRE) lending business. It focuses on originating CRE debt investments and providing capital to borrowers and sponsors with transitional business plans collateralized by CRE assets. The company intends to create a diversified investment portfolio, targeting investments in senior mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, whole loans, B-notes, CMBS, and debt-like preferred equity securities across CRE asset classes. Sunrise Realty Trust, Inc. was incorporated in 2023 and is based in West Palm Beach, Florida.