Two Harbors Investments (NYSE:TWO) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Two Harbors Investments Corp (NYSE:TWO) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $10.58, but opened at $10.16. Two Harbors Investments shares last traded at $10.0420, with a volume of 700,650 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TWO shares. Zacks Research cut Two Harbors Investments from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Two Harbors Investments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Two Harbors Investments in a report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Two Harbors Investments from $9.50 to $10.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Maxim Group lowered shares of Two Harbors Investments from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.96.

Two Harbors Investments Stock Down 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $10.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a PE ratio of -4.14 and a beta of 1.19.

Two Harbors Investments (NYSE:TWO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of ($18.67) million for the quarter. Two Harbors Investments had a negative net margin of 44.10% and a positive return on equity of 11.92%. As a group, analysts expect that Two Harbors Investments Corp will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Two Harbors Investments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 5th will be paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 5th. Two Harbors Investments’s dividend payout ratio is currently -54.40%.

Insider Activity at Two Harbors Investments

In related news, insider Robert Rush sold 23,594 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.43, for a total value of $269,679.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 98,207 shares in the company, valued at $1,122,506.01. The trade was a 19.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Rebecca B. Sandberg sold 27,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.43, for a total value of $312,839.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 156,718 shares in the company, valued at $1,791,286.74. This trade represents a 14.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 124,307 shares of company stock valued at $1,420,130 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Two Harbors Investments

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 1.7% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,240,983 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,074,000 after buying an additional 88,518 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Two Harbors Investments by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,535,534 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $44,766,000 after buying an additional 1,415,062 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Two Harbors Investments by 490.7% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,583,939 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,977,196 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 44.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,649,977 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,540,000 after acquiring an additional 815,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Two Harbors Investments during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $17,558,000. 64.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Two Harbors Investments

Two Harbors Investments Corp. is a mortgage real estate investment trust (mREIT) that primarily invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) issued or guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises, as well as non-agency residential mortgage loans, mortgage servicing rights and credit risk transfer securities. The company seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for its shareholders by employing leverage to enhance net interest income derived from its portfolio of high-quality fixed-income assets.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Two Harbors operates through a self-managed platform that combines portfolio management, risk-management and securitization expertise.