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

Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $7.75.

RWT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Redwood Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Redwood Trust from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.00 price objective on shares of Redwood Trust in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

Redwood Trust Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE RWT opened at $6.01 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $6.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.91. Redwood Trust has a one year low of $5.46 and a one year high of $8.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.09, a quick ratio of 44.36 and a current ratio of 44.36. The company has a market capitalization of $795.78 million, a P/E ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 1.63.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $27.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.00 million. Redwood Trust had a return on equity of 6.91% and a net margin of 9.35%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Redwood Trust will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Redwood Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 24th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 24th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.99%. Redwood Trust’s payout ratio is 218.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Redwood Trust during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Redwood Trust during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Redwood Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 86.7% in the 4th 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. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Redwood Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,000. 74.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.