Brokerages Set Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) Target Price at $7.84

Shares of Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four 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 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.84.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Redwood Trust from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Redwood Trust from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 17th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Redwood Trust in a research report on Friday, February 14th.

Redwood Trust Price Performance

Shares of RWT opened at $6.69 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $886.56 million, a PE ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 1.57. 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 has a 1-year low of $5.45 and a 1-year high of $8.15. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $6.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.05.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $27.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.00 million. Redwood Trust had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 6.91%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Redwood Trust will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.76%. This is an increase from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 218.18%.

Institutional Trading of Redwood Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $223,000 after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,488 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 4.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 29,725 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 4,527 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.