Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Raised 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 released on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on RWT. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Redwood Trust from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Redwood Trust from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Redwood Trust from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.19.

Redwood Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RWT opened at $7.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $931.84 million, a PE ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a current ratio of 44.36, a quick ratio of 44.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.55. Redwood Trust has a 12-month low of $5.45 and a 12-month high of $8.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.03.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 23rd. This is an increase from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Redwood Trust’s payout ratio is presently 123.64%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in Redwood Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Redwood Trust by 65.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,043 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Redwood Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $69,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Redwood Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Redwood Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $86,000. 74.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.