Affinity Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stake in iStar Financial Inc. (NYSE:STAR)

Affinity Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of iStar Financial Inc. (NYSE:STAR) by 14.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,564 shares during the period. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in iStar Financial were worth $248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of STAR. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in iStar Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $299,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in iStar Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,423,894 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,611,000 after buying an additional 12,522 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in iStar Financial by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 288,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after buying an additional 151,300 shares during the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY raised its stake in iStar Financial by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. NY now owns 48,231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in iStar Financial by 208.7% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 53,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 36,187 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.06% of the company’s stock.

Shares of iStar Financial Inc. (NYSE:STAR) opened at 11.89 on Friday. iStar Financial Inc. has a 12-month low of $10.19 and a 12-month high of $12.83. The company has a market cap of $858.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $11.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.97.

iStar Financial (NYSE:STAR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $2.87 by $0.63. iStar Financial had a return on equity of 22.21% and a net margin of 32.82%. The firm had revenue of $347.87 million for the quarter. Equities analysts predict that iStar Financial Inc. will post $3.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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STAR has been the topic of several analyst reports. BidaskClub lowered iStar Financial from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of iStar Financial in a report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, ValuEngine lowered iStar Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st.

In other news, major shareholder Istar Inc. bought 7,840 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.48 per share, with a total value of $152,723.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,044,600 shares in the company, valued at $98,268,808. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 506,957 shares of company stock worth $9,517,491. Insiders own 4.76% of the company’s stock.

About iStar Financial

iStar Inc finances, invests in and develops real estate and real estate related projects as part of its integrated investment platform. The Company’s four business segments are Real Estate Finance, Net Lease, Operating Properties, and Land and Development. The Real Estate Finance portfolio consists of senior and mezzanine real estate loans that may be either fixed-rate or variable-rate.