Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Redwood Trust in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jones Trading decreased their target price on Redwood Trust from $7.00 to $6.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $8.50 target price on shares of Redwood Trust in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Redwood Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $6.75.

Redwood Trust Price Performance

RWT opened at $5.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.73, a quick ratio of 57.77 and a current ratio of 57.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $755.66 million, a PE ratio of -7.36 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $5.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.73. Redwood Trust has a 52-week low of $4.68 and a 52-week high of $6.73.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.04. Redwood Trust had a negative net margin of 8.62% and a positive return on equity of 9.19%. The company had revenue of $54.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $31.04 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Redwood Trust will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Redwood Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 23rd were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 23rd. Redwood Trust’s payout ratio is -88.89%.

Institutional Trading of Redwood Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RWT. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 270.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,168 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 4,503 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Redwood Trust by 331.8% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,915 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 6,082 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Redwood Trust by 136.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,823 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 6,255 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Redwood Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 71.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 4,611 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.34% of the company’s stock.

About Redwood Trust

Redwood Trust, Inc (NYSE:RWT) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust specializing in the U.S. residential mortgage market. Headquartered in Mill Valley, California, the company focuses on investing in a diversified portfolio of residential mortgage assets, including whole loans, agency and non-agency mortgage-backed securities, and structured credit products.

The company’s core activities encompass the acquisition, financing, and management of prime residential mortgage whole loans and mortgage-backed securities.