Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Given New $6.50 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $7.00 to $6.50 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on RWT. JMP Securities increased their price target on 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 upgraded shares of Redwood Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.97.

Redwood Trust Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of RWT opened at $6.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.18. The company has a current ratio of 44.36, a quick ratio of 44.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.55. The stock has a market cap of $851.44 million, a PE ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 1.57. Redwood Trust has a 1 year low of $5.45 and a 1 year high of $8.15.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.04. Redwood Trust had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 6.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Redwood Trust will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This is an increase 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 11.21%. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 130.91%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Redwood Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Redwood Trust by 65.4% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,043 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Redwood Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Redwood Trust in the third quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Redwood Trust in the third quarter valued at about $101,000. Institutional investors 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.