Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com cut shares of Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Friday morning.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on RWT. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Redwood Trust from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Redwood Trust from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. JMP Securities raised their target price on Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Redwood Trust from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.19.

Redwood Trust Stock Performance

RWT opened at $7.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 50.47, a quick ratio of 50.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.75. Redwood Trust has a 12-month low of $5.45 and a 12-month high of $8.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $7.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $955.95 million, a PE ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 1.59.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 9.41%. This is a boost from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 23rd. Redwood Trust’s payout ratio is presently 123.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Redwood Trust by 19.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,504,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $98,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530,937 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,846,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,760,000 after purchasing an additional 37,514 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Redwood Trust by 22.8% in 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 buying an additional 207,088 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Redwood Trust by 13.0% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,103,231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,182,000 after buying an additional 127,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Redwood Trust by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 976,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,336,000 after buying an additional 174,317 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.34% of the company’s stock.

Redwood Trust Company Profile

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.