Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE:TWO) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE:TWO) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $13.54.

A number of research firms have weighed in on TWO. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Two Harbors Investment from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Two Harbors Investment in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Two Harbors Investment from $11.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Two Harbors Investment to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Compass Point lowered their price objective on Two Harbors Investment from $15.75 to $14.75 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th.

Two Harbors Investment Stock Performance

TWO stock opened at $11.79 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $11.73 and a 200-day moving average of $12.68. The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 1.83. Two Harbors Investment has a 12-month low of $10.84 and a 12-month high of $14.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Two Harbors Investment (NYSE:TWO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.27 by ($0.07). Two Harbors Investment had a negative net margin of 87.84% and a positive return on equity of 4.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Two Harbors Investment will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Two Harbors Investment Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 15.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. Two Harbors Investment’s payout ratio is -37.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CIO Nicholas Letica sold 5,737 shares of Two Harbors Investment stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.28, for a total transaction of $64,713.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 168,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,905,586.80. This trade represents a 3.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rebecca B. Sandberg sold 3,785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.14, for a total value of $42,164.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 152,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,697,490.92. The trade was a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,754 shares of company stock worth $333,307. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Two Harbors Investment

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Two Harbors Investment during the 3rd quarter worth $3,505,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investment by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,440,820 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $33,885,000 after purchasing an additional 48,264 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Two Harbors Investment by 346.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 172,557 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 133,869 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investment by 1,392.7% during 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 buying an additional 180,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Two Harbors Investment in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.19% of the company’s stock.

Two Harbors Investment Company 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.