Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stake in Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE:TWO)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE:TWO - Free Report) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 893,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 149,870 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.86% of Two Harbors Investment worth $10,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TWO. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investment by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,281,220 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $73,303,000 after purchasing an additional 84,038 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Two Harbors Investment by 1,392.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 193,478 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,685,000 after acquiring an additional 180,516 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Two Harbors Investment by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,100 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Two Harbors Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $134,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Two Harbors Investment in the 3rd quarter valued at about $308,000. 64.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CIO Nicholas Letica sold 3,956 shares of Two Harbors Investment stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.21, for a total transaction of $44,346.76. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 180,712 shares in the company, valued at $2,025,781.52. This trade represents a 2.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Rebecca B. Sandberg sold 3,785 shares of Two Harbors Investment stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.14, for a total transaction of $42,164.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 152,378 shares in the company, valued at $1,697,490.92. This represents a 2.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,136 shares of company stock valued at $377,154 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Two Harbors Investment Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE TWO traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, hitting $13.57. The stock had a trading volume of 409,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,226. The business's fifty day moving average price is $12.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Two Harbors Investment Corp. has a 52-week low of $10.84 and a 52-week high of $14.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.43 and a beta of 1.84.

Two Harbors Investment (NYSE:TWO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.07). Two Harbors Investment had a net margin of 66.24% and a return on equity of 6.52%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Two Harbors Investment Corp. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Two Harbors Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.27%. Two Harbors Investment's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TWO. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $14.00 target price on shares of Two Harbors Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Two Harbors Investment from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Compass Point lowered their price target on Two Harbors Investment from $15.75 to $14.75 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Two Harbors Investment from $11.00 to $12.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Two Harbors Investment from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Two Harbors Investment presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $13.96.

Two Harbors Investment Profile

Two Harbors Investment Corp. invests in, finances, and manages mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), and other financial assets through RoundPoint in the United States. The company target assets include agency RMBS collateralized by fixed rate mortgage loans, adjustable rate mortgage loans, hybrid mortgage loans, or derivatives; and other assets, such as financial and mortgage-related assets, including non-agency securities and non-hedging transactions.