Two Harbors Investments Corp (NYSE:TWO) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Two Harbors Investments Corp has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from eight research firms, with a target price of $12.43.
• The firm recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.34 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 13.1%, despite cutting the payout ratio to -43.82%.
• Institutional investors now own 64.19% of Two Harbors' stock, with several firms increasing their stakes, indicating growing interest in the company's shares.

Two Harbors Investments Corp (NYSE:TWO - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $12.4286.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Two Harbors Investments from $13.00 to $12.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Maxim Group decreased their target price on Two Harbors Investments from $15.00 to $12.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Two Harbors Investments in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Two Harbors Investments in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Two Harbors Investments from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Two Harbors Investments

In related news, CIO Nicholas Letica sold 8,654 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.02, for a total value of $86,713.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 160,281 shares in the company, valued at $1,606,015.62. The trade was a 5.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Two Harbors Investments

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 490.7% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,583,939 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,977,196 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 1,052.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,090,851 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,905,000 after buying an additional 996,188 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 44.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,649,977 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,540,000 after buying an additional 815,931 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 168.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 744,028 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,013,000 after buying an additional 466,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Two Harbors Investments during the 2nd quarter worth $4,371,000. 64.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Two Harbors Investments Stock Down 0.8%

TWO stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.17. The company had a trading volume of 351,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,707,151. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $10.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.30. The company has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.85 and a beta of 1.28. Two Harbors Investments has a 52 week low of $9.49 and a 52 week high of $14.28.

Two Harbors Investments (NYSE:TWO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28. The firm had revenue of ($18.12) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of ($23.29) million. Two Harbors Investments had a positive return on equity of 9.39% and a negative net margin of 67.06%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Two Harbors Investments will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Two Harbors Investments Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.4%. Two Harbors Investments's payout ratio is -43.82%.

About Two Harbors Investments

Two Harbors Investment Corp. invests in, finances, and manages mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), and other financial assets through RoundPoint in the United States. The company target assets include agency RMBS collateralized by fixed rate mortgage loans, adjustable rate mortgage loans, hybrid mortgage loans, or derivatives; and other assets, such as financial and mortgage-related assets, including non-agency securities and non-hedging transactions.