Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

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

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

Redwood Trust Stock Down 1.8 %

RWT opened at $6.52 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $7.01 and a 200-day moving average of $7.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $862.38 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 44.36, a quick ratio of 44.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.55. Redwood Trust has a 1-year low of $5.45 and a 1-year high of $8.15.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Redwood Trust’s payout ratio is currently 130.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Redwood Trust by 6.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,611,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $112,945,000 after buying an additional 941,223 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $40,116,000 after acquiring an additional 102,274 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Redwood Trust by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,038,438 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,492,000 after acquiring an additional 25,444 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Redwood Trust by 22.8% during the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,113,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,608,000 after purchasing an additional 207,088 shares during the period. Finally, NFC Investments LLC increased its stake in Redwood Trust by 127.7% in the third quarter. NFC Investments LLC now owns 484,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,749,000 after purchasing an additional 271,975 shares in the last quarter. 74.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.