Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Redwood Trust in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Zacks Research raised Redwood Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Redwood Trust from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $6.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Redwood Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, JonesTrading reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $6.25 price target on shares of Redwood Trust in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.96.

Redwood Trust Stock Performance

Shares of RWT stock opened at $5.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.34, a quick ratio of 55.15 and a current ratio of 55.15. The firm has a market cap of $686.95 million, a P/E ratio of -9.01 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $5.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.71. Redwood Trust has a one year low of $4.68 and a one year high of $6.97.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $140.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.88 million. Redwood Trust had a negative net margin of 5.93% and a positive return on equity of 12.00%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Redwood Trust will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Redwood Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 24th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.1%. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -118.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 26.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 492,661 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,990,000 after buying an additional 103,893 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Redwood Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $2,018,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Redwood Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $149,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Redwood Trust by 8.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,164,509 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,882,000 after acquiring an additional 88,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Redwood Trust by 2.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,176,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,773,000 after acquiring an additional 80,206 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.34% of the company’s stock.

Redwood Trust Company Profile

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.