Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT – Get Rating) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

RWT has been the topic of several other research reports. Credit Suisse Group reiterated an outperform rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of Redwood Trust in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Redwood Trust from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Redwood Trust from $9.00 to $8.50 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Redwood Trust from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on Redwood Trust from $11.00 to $10.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research note on Sunday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Redwood Trust currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $9.44.

Redwood Trust Stock Down 4.1 %

Redwood Trust stock opened at $6.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 8.97, a quick ratio of 5.29 and a current ratio of 5.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $7.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.24. The company has a market cap of $765.60 million, a PE ratio of -4.65 and a beta of 1.36. Redwood Trust has a fifty-two week low of $5.51 and a fifty-two week high of $11.03.

Redwood Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 23rd. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.65%. Redwood Trust’s payout ratio is currently -63.45%.

Insider Activity at Redwood Trust

In related news, CAO Collin L. Cochrane sold 11,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.86, for a total value of $80,303.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 56,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $390,327.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Collin L. Cochrane sold 11,706 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.86, for a total value of $80,303.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 56,899 shares in the company, valued at $390,327.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew P. Stone sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.86, for a total value of $48,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 106,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $732,792.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 95,388 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 0.5% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 301,444 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,924,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 5.0% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 32,690 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY raised its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 7,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 17,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,840 shares in the last quarter. 71.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Redwood Trust

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Redwood Trust, Inc is a financial company, which focuses on several distinct areas of housing credit. It operates through the following segments: Residential Mortgage Banking, Business Purpose Mortgage Banking, and Investment Portfolio. The Residential Mortgage Banking segment consists of a mortgage loan conduit that acquires residential loans from third-party originators for subsequent sale, securitization, or transfer into the investment portfolio.