Analysts Set Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) Price Target at $8.03

Shares of Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $8.03.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on RWT shares. StockNews.com raised Redwood Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of 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 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 report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 target price (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Redwood Trust in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th.

Redwood Trust Stock Down 0.9 %

RWT stock opened at $6.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $7.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.16. The company has a market cap of $878.25 million, a P/E ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.55, a quick ratio of 44.36 and a current ratio of 44.36. Redwood Trust has a fifty-two week low of $5.45 and a fifty-two week high of $8.15.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.84%. This is an increase from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 23rd. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 130.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 acquiring an additional 941,223 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 2.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 102,274 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 25,444 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,113,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,608,000 after purchasing an additional 207,088 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 21.7% in 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.