Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Earns Buy Rating from Jones Trading

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by investment analysts at Jones Trading in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $7.00 price target on the real estate investment trust's stock. Jones Trading's price objective suggests a potential upside of 19.15% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on RWT. JMP Securities cut their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $8.00 to $7.50 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $5.50 to $6.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Redwood Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.44.

Redwood Trust Stock Performance

RWT traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.88. 202,041 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 946,666. The company's fifty day moving average price is $5.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $781.28 million, a P/E ratio of 17.83 and a beta of 1.45. Redwood Trust has a 52-week low of $4.68 and a 52-week high of $8.15. The company has a quick ratio of 44.36, a current ratio of 44.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.09.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Redwood Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 3.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 59,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 1,767 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 1.5% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 152,430 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 2,326 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 72,744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 2,383 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Redwood Trust by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 20,164 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,488 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 81,897 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 3,049 shares during the last quarter. 74.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Redwood Trust Company Profile

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.