Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Given New $6.50 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) had its target price reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $7.00 to $6.50 in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on RWT. JMP Securities boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded Redwood Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.84.

Redwood Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RWT opened at $6.31 on Tuesday. Redwood Trust has a one year low of $5.45 and a one year high of $8.15. The stock has a market cap of $835.54 million, a PE ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $6.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.17. 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 (NYSE:RWT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.04. Redwood Trust had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 9.35%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Redwood Trust will post 0.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 23rd. This is a positive change from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 130.91%.

Institutional Trading of Redwood Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Redwood Trust by 7.8% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,849 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Redwood Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $113,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 290,767 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 21,232 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new stake in Redwood Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in Redwood Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $86,000. 74.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.