Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning.

RWT has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Redwood Trust from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Redwood Trust in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.75.

Redwood Trust Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:RWT opened at $6.48 on Wednesday. Redwood Trust has a 12 month low of $5.45 and a 12 month high of $8.15. The company has a current ratio of 44.36, a quick ratio of 44.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $6.47 and its 200 day moving average is $7.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $858.07 million, a PE ratio of 19.62 and a beta of 1.63.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.03). Redwood Trust had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 6.91%. The firm had revenue of $27.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.00 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Redwood Trust will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.12%. This is an increase from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 218.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Redwood Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Redwood Trust in the third quarter worth $39,000. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Redwood Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Redwood Trust by 86.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 4,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Redwood Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.34% of the company’s stock.

Redwood Trust Company Profile

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.