Two Harbors Investments (NYSE:TWO) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares gapped up pre-market from a $11.57 close to a $12.29 open and last traded around $12.4950 on heavy volume (1.43M shares).
• Quarterly beat: TWO reported $0.34 EPS versus a $0.21 consensus and $225.08M in revenue, while showing a negative net margin (-87.72%) but a positive return on equity (13.62%).
• Analyst sentiment and yield: The stock carries an average rating of "Reduce" with a $12.25 average price target, and the company pays a $0.34 quarterly dividend (10.9% annualized yield).

Two Harbors Investments Corp (NYSE:TWO - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $11.57, but opened at $12.29. Two Harbors Investments shares last traded at $12.4950, with a volume of 1,428,574 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TWO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Two Harbors Investments from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $12.50 to $11.00 in a report on Thursday, April 16th. 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 research note on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group cut Two Harbors Investments from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $11.00 to $14.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Two Harbors Investments from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $12.25.

Two Harbors Investments Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $10.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.26 and a beta of 1.08.

Two Harbors Investments (NYSE:TWO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $2.33 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Two Harbors Investments Corp will post 0.8 EPS for the current year.

Two Harbors Investments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.9%. Two Harbors Investments's dividend payout ratio is currently -35.60%.

Institutional Trading of Two Harbors Investments

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Two Harbors Investments during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Two Harbors Investments by 695.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,421 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Two Harbors Investments during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 456.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,465 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 4,482 shares in the last quarter. 64.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Two Harbors Investments

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.