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

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

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

Institutional Trading of Redwood Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $548,000 after buying an additional 3,206 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,038,438 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,492,000 after purchasing an additional 25,444 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Redwood Trust by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,611,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $112,945,000 after purchasing an additional 941,223 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Redwood Trust by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,189,667 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,116,000 after purchasing an additional 102,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new position in Redwood Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,217,000. 74.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Redwood Trust Price Performance

RWT opened at $6.16 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.17. Redwood Trust has a 52-week low of $5.45 and a 52-week high of $8.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $814.76 million, a P/E ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.55, a quick ratio of 44.36 and a current ratio of 44.36.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.18 dividend. This is a positive change from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 130.91%.

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.