Analysts Set Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) Price Target at $7.84

Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7.84.

Several analysts have weighed in on RWT shares. JMP Securities cut their price objective on Redwood Trust from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Redwood Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Redwood Trust from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Redwood Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 65.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Redwood Trust in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 86.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,313 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 4,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Redwood Trust during the second quarter valued at approximately $86,000. 74.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Redwood Trust Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of RWT traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $6.52. 532,171 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 854,149. Redwood Trust has a 12 month low of $5.45 and a 12 month high of $8.15. The company has a market capitalization of $863.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 1.57. The company's fifty day moving average price is $6.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.14. The company has a quick ratio of 44.36, a current ratio of 44.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.55.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.05%. This is an increase from Redwood Trust's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 23rd. Redwood Trust's payout ratio is 130.91%.

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.