Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.75.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RWT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $8.00 price objective on shares of Redwood Trust in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Redwood Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 17th.

Redwood Trust Stock Performance

RWT stock opened at $6.45 on Wednesday. Redwood Trust has a 1-year low of $5.45 and a 1-year high of $8.15. The company has a current ratio of 44.36, a quick ratio of 44.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.09. The firm has a market cap of $854.09 million, a PE ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 1.63. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $6.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.04.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.00 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Redwood Trust will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. Redwood Trust’s payout ratio is presently 218.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Redwood Trust by 7.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 28,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 72,744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,164 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,488 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 72,486 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 3,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 18.0% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 29,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 4,527 shares in the last quarter. 74.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.