Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $5.43 and last traded at $5.40, with a volume of 877285 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $5.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RWT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Redwood Trust from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Redwood Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Redwood Trust in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Redwood Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.75.

Redwood Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $710.97 million, a PE ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.09, a current ratio of 44.36 and a quick ratio of 44.36.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 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 business had revenue of $27.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.00 million. Equities analysts predict that Redwood Trust, Inc. will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Redwood Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 24th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.42%. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 218.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RWT. Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Redwood Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 86.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 4,788 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in Redwood Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $74,000. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Redwood Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Redwood Trust by 239.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 8,863 shares during the last quarter. 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.