Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.03.

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

Redwood Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RWT stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $6.47. The stock had a trading volume of 863,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 899,914. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.55, a current ratio of 44.36 and a quick ratio of 44.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $855.77 million, a PE ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 1.57. Redwood Trust has a twelve month low of $5.45 and a twelve month high of $8.15.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This is a positive change from Redwood Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.13%. Redwood Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently 130.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Redwood Trust during the third quarter valued at $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Redwood Trust by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 2,043 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Redwood Trust during the second quarter valued at about $86,000. Creative Planning acquired a new position in shares of Redwood Trust in the third quarter worth about $91,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Redwood Trust in the third quarter worth approximately $101,000. 74.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.