Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.69.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RWT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Redwood Trust from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $6.50 target price on shares of Redwood Trust in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Redwood Trust from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Redwood Trust from $7.75 to $7.25 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

Redwood Trust Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:RWT opened at $7.41 on Tuesday. Redwood Trust has a 12-month low of $5.45 and a 12-month high of $8.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.42. The company has a market capitalization of $979.23 million, a PE ratio of 105.86 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 9.09, a quick ratio of 9.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66.

Redwood Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 21st were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 21st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.64%. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 914.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brooke Carillo purchased 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $6.25 per share, with a total value of $93,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 56,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $354,825. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 157.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,279,191 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,511,000 after buying an additional 2,614,898 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,798,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,325,000 after buying an additional 127,435 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,103,231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,182,000 after buying an additional 127,143 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 69,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 2,993 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 708,459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,250,000 after buying an additional 45,534 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.34% of the company’s stock.

About Redwood Trust

Redwood Trust, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Residential Consumer Mortgage Banking, Residential Investor Mortgage Banking, and Investment Portfolio. The Residential Consumer Mortgage Banking segment operates a mortgage loan conduit that acquires residential loans from third-party originators for subsequent sale, securitization, or transfer to its investment portfolio.