MQS Management LLC Takes $72,000 Position in Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT)

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $72,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RWT. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Redwood Trust by 641.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,705 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 3,205 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Redwood Trust by 26.5% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 14,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Redwood Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $107,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,807 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,000 after buying an additional 3,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 9.1% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 22,653 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 1,889 shares in the last quarter. 74.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities increased their target price on Redwood Trust from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Redwood Trust from $7.75 to $7.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $6.50 price target on shares of Redwood Trust in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Redwood Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.69.

Redwood Trust Stock Performance

RWT traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $7.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,062,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,240,968. Redwood Trust, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.45 and a fifty-two week high of $8.30. The company has a current ratio of 9.09, a quick ratio of 9.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $964.70 million, a PE ratio of 104.29 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.44.

Redwood Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 21st were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 21st. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio is currently 914.29%.

Insider Activity at Redwood Trust

In other news, CFO Brooke Carillo purchased 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $6.25 per share, for a total transaction of $93,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 56,772 shares in the company, valued at $354,825. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.