Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $4.68 and last traded at $5.42, with a volume of 3818901 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $4.95.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Redwood Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Redwood Trust in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Redwood Trust from $7.00 to $6.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $7.83.

Redwood Trust Trading Up 0.1 %

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $6.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $678.88 million, a P/E ratio of 15.47 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 44.36, a current ratio of 44.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.09.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $27.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.00 million. Redwood Trust had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 6.91%. As a group, analysts forecast that Redwood Trust, Inc. will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Redwood Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 24th. Redwood Trust’s payout ratio is presently 218.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Redwood Trust by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,189,667 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,116,000 after acquiring an additional 102,274 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 641,410 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,188,000 after purchasing an additional 18,164 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Redwood Trust by 4.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 72,486 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Redwood Trust by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,038,438 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $23,492,000 after purchasing an additional 25,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Redwood Trust by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,085,593 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,089,000 after buying an additional 165,281 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.34% of the company’s stock.

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.