Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $8.03.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Redwood Trust from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Redwood Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price target (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Redwood Trust in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their price objective on Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RWT. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 2.2% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 66,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in Redwood Trust by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 28,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Redwood Trust by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC now owns 14,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Redwood Trust by 65.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 7.8% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,849 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.34% of the company’s stock.

Redwood Trust Stock Performance

NYSE RWT opened at $6.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.55, a current ratio of 44.36 and a quick ratio of 44.36. Redwood Trust has a 1-year low of $5.45 and a 1-year high of $8.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $7.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $7.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $921.90 million, a PE ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 1.57.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.33%. This is an increase from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 130.91%.

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.