Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $5.54, but opened at $5.26. Redwood Trust shares last traded at $5.37, with a volume of 278,960 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RWT has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Redwood Trust from $6.50 to $5.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JMP Securities decreased their target price on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Redwood Trust from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jones Trading decreased their price objective on Redwood Trust from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $7.50.

Redwood Trust Stock Up 1.5 %

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $6.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.58. 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 market capitalization of $799.23 million, a P/E ratio of 18.21 and a beta of 1.15.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.03). Redwood Trust had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 6.91%. The business had revenue of $27.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $26.00 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Redwood Trust, Inc. will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Redwood Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 24th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 24th. Redwood Trust's payout ratio is 218.18%.

Institutional Trading of Redwood Trust

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 641,410 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,188,000 after acquiring an additional 18,164 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Redwood Trust by 4.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 72,486 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 3,206 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Redwood Trust by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,038,438 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $23,492,000 after purchasing an additional 25,444 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Redwood Trust by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,085,593 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,089,000 after buying an additional 165,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,707,027 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,561,000 after buying an additional 206,698 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.34% of the company's stock.

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.