Two Harbors Investments Corp (NYSE:TWO) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Shares of Two Harbors Investments Corp (NYSE:TWO) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $12.8750.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TWO. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Two Harbors Investments in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group lowered Two Harbors Investments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $14.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Two Harbors Investments from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Two Harbors Investments from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Maxim Group downgraded shares of Two Harbors Investments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rebecca B. Sandberg sold 27,370 shares of Two Harbors Investments stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.43, for a total transaction of $312,839.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 156,718 shares in the company, valued at $1,791,286.74. This trade represents a 14.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO William Dellal sold 7,087 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.44, for a total value of $81,075.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 36,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $419,882.32. This trade represents a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,389 shares of company stock valued at $1,483,046. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Two Harbors Investments

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Two Harbors Investments by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in Two Harbors Investments by 3.9% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 30,604 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Two Harbors Investments by 1.4% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 85,985 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,130 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.19% of the company’s stock.

Two Harbors Investments Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TWO opened at $10.08 on Friday. Two Harbors Investments has a 1 year low of $9.00 and a 1 year high of $14.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.06 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.59 and its 200 day moving average is $10.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Two Harbors Investments (NYSE:TWO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $182.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of ($15.44) million. Two Harbors Investments had a negative net margin of 109.90% and a positive return on equity of 12.00%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Two Harbors Investments will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Two Harbors Investments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 5th. Two Harbors Investments’s dividend payout ratio is currently -27.81%.

About Two Harbors Investments

Two Harbors Investments Corp. is a mortgage real estate investment trust (mREIT) that primarily invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) issued or guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises, as well as non-agency residential mortgage loans, mortgage servicing rights and credit risk transfer securities. The company seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for its shareholders by employing leverage to enhance net interest income derived from its portfolio of high-quality fixed-income assets.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Two Harbors operates through a self-managed platform that combines portfolio management, risk-management and securitization expertise.