Zacks Research Upgrades Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) to Strong-Buy

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

RWT has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Redwood Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $6.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Redwood Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Jones Trading dropped their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $7.00 to $6.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Redwood Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.75.

Redwood Trust Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:RWT traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $5.87. 433,132 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,340,124. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.73, a quick ratio of 57.77 and a current ratio of 57.77. Redwood Trust has a twelve month low of $4.68 and a twelve month high of $6.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $742.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.24 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $5.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.72.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 270.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,168 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 4,503 shares during the period. 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 worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 6,082 shares in the last quarter. Westbourne Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Redwood Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 71.6% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,054 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 4,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 136.9% during the second 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.