Redwood Trust, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.18 (NYSE:RWT)

Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, June 12th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.18 per share by the real estate investment trust on Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 23rd.

Redwood Trust has a payout ratio of 86.7% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company's earnings decline. Research analysts expect Redwood Trust to earn $0.90 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.72 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 80.0%.

Redwood Trust Stock Down 2.1%

RWT traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $5.70. 672,077 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 936,087. Redwood Trust has a twelve month low of $4.68 and a twelve month high of $8.15. The company has a market cap of $758.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 44.36, a quick ratio of 44.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $5.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.20.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.03). Redwood Trust had a return on equity of 6.91% and a net margin of 9.35%. The company had revenue of $73.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.55 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Redwood Trust will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Redwood Trust

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RWT. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 26.7% in the 1st 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 valued at $2,990,000 after purchasing an additional 103,893 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Redwood Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,018,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Redwood Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $149,000. 74.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on RWT shares. Wall Street Zen raised Redwood Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Redwood Trust from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on Redwood Trust from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jones Trading reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Redwood Trust in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Redwood Trust from $7.75 to $7.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.44.

About Redwood Trust

Redwood Trust, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Residential Consumer Mortgage Banking, Residential Investor Mortgage Banking, and Investment Portfolio. The Residential Consumer Mortgage Banking segment operates a mortgage loan conduit that acquires residential loans from third-party originators for subsequent sale, securitization, or transfer to its investment portfolio.