Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stock Position in Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE:TWO)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE:TWO) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 526,536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,383 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.55% of Two Harbors Investment worth $7,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Two Harbors Investment by 107.1% during the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 26,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 400,117 shares during the period. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Two Harbors Investment by 83.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 770,911 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $10,207,000 after acquiring an additional 350,060 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Two Harbors Investment by 1,208.2% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 175,851 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 162,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Two Harbors Investment by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,236,922 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,377,000 after acquiring an additional 96,057 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC raised its stake in Two Harbors Investment by 151.8% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 107,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 65,100 shares during the period. 64.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Two Harbors Investment Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of TWO opened at $13.10 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $12.63 and its 200 day moving average is $12.96. Two Harbors Investment Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $9.83 and a fifty-two week high of $14.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 7.36 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Two Harbors Investment Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.74%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. Two Harbors Investment’s dividend payout ratio is presently 101.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mary Kathryn Riskey sold 2,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total value of $26,445.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 83,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,028,341.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Two Harbors Investment news, CFO Mary Kathryn Riskey sold 2,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total transaction of $26,445.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 83,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,028,341.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO William Ross Greenberg sold 7,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.30, for a total transaction of $88,191.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 264,079 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,248,171.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,752 shares of company stock worth $169,150. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Two Harbors Investment from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Two Harbors Investment from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of Two Harbors Investment in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jonestrading assumed coverage on shares of Two Harbors Investment in a report on Friday, March 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Two Harbors Investment from a “c-” rating to a “d” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.57.

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.