UBS Group AG Purchases 464,929 Shares of Two Harbors Investments Corp $TWO

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Two Harbors Investments by 42.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 464,929 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 1,564,418 shares worth about $16.4 million.
• Two Harbors Investments reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $0.34 versus the $0.21 consensus estimate, alongside revenue of $225.08 million.
• The company continues to offer a high dividend yield, with its latest quarterly payout of $0.34 translating to an annualized yield of 10.7%; analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Reduce” with an average target price of $12.25.

UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Two Harbors Investments Corp (NYSE:TWO - Free Report) by 42.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,564,418 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 464,929 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 1.50% of Two Harbors Investments worth $16,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 3.9% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 30,604 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 1.4% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 85,985 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 11.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 11.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,130 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Finally, APS Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. APS Management Group Inc. now owns 29,832 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 2,151 shares during the period. 64.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Two Harbors Investments Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of TWO stock opened at $12.67 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Two Harbors Investments Corp has a 1 year low of $8.78 and a 1 year high of $14.17. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $10.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.32 and a beta of 1.03.

Two Harbors Investments (NYSE:TWO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.13. Two Harbors Investments had a negative net margin of 87.72% and a positive return on equity of 13.62%. The firm had revenue of $225.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.33 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Two Harbors Investments Corp will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Two Harbors Investments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. Two Harbors Investments's payout ratio is presently -35.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on TWO. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Two Harbors Investments from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Compass Point lowered shares of Two Harbors Investments from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group lowered shares of Two Harbors Investments from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $14.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Two Harbors Investments from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $12.50 to $11.00 in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Two Harbors Investments from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $12.25.

Two Harbors Investments Company Profile

Two Harbors Investments Corp. is a mortgage real estate investment trust (mREIT) that primarily invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) issued or guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises, as well as non-agency residential mortgage loans, mortgage servicing rights and credit risk transfer securities. The company seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for its shareholders by employing leverage to enhance net interest income derived from its portfolio of high-quality fixed-income assets.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Two Harbors operates through a self-managed platform that combines portfolio management, risk-management and securitization expertise.

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