Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,486 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,206 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Redwood Trust worth $548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Redwood Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 2,043 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Redwood Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Redwood Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new position in Redwood Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $91,000. 74.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Redwood Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RWT opened at $6.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.55, a quick ratio of 44.36 and a current ratio of 44.36. The company has a market capitalization of $851.80 million, a PE ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $7.09 and a 200-day moving average of $7.18. Redwood Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $5.45 and a one year high of $8.15.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.18%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This is an increase from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 130.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RWT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com raised Redwood Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price target (down from $8.00) on shares of Redwood Trust in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Five 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.03.

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.