Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Price Target Raised to $7.00 at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS Group raised its price objective for Redwood Trust stock from $6.50 to $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.55% from the current price and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Other brokerages have mixed opinions, with some downgrading the stock, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.25.
• Redwood Trust's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.18, missing estimates, while its stock traded at $6.06 with a market cap of $782.81 million.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by UBS Group from $6.50 to $7.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on RWT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Redwood Trust from $6.50 to $5.75 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Redwood Trust from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities dropped their target price on shares of Redwood Trust from $7.50 to $7.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.25.

Redwood Trust Price Performance

NYSE:RWT traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $6.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,175,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,358. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.00, a current ratio of 40.39 and a quick ratio of 40.39. Redwood Trust has a one year low of $4.68 and a one year high of $8.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $822.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.95 and a beta of 1.37.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of ($38.10) million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $31.00 million. Redwood Trust had a negative net margin of 6.93% and a positive return on equity of 8.70%. Research analysts forecast that Redwood Trust will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Redwood Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 23rd were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 23rd. Redwood Trust's dividend payout ratio is -112.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nomura Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 220.3% in the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 120,316 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $711,000 after buying an additional 220,316 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Redwood Trust by 8.0% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 453,773 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,682,000 after buying an additional 33,518 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 6.5% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 164,791 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 10,101 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 136.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 10,823 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 6,255 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Redwood Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $246,000. 74.34% of the stock is currently 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.