Raymond James Boosts Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Price Target to $9.50

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) had its target price upped by Raymond James from $8.50 to $9.50 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a strong-buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $6.50 to $7.50 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five 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 price target of $8.08.

Redwood Trust Price Performance

NYSE RWT opened at $7.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 50.47, a current ratio of 50.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a PE ratio of 113.29 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $7.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.65. Redwood Trust has a 12-month low of $5.45 and a 12-month high of $8.15.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. Redwood Trust had a net margin of 4.45% and a return on equity of 4.93%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Redwood Trust will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.58%. This is a positive change from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Redwood Trust’s payout ratio is 914.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Redwood Trust by 19.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,504,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $98,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530,937 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Redwood Trust by 164.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,314,715 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $83,842,000 after buying an additional 7,035,524 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Redwood Trust by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,846,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,760,000 after buying an additional 37,514 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Redwood Trust by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,798,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,325,000 after buying an additional 127,435 shares during the period. Finally, Peregrine Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Redwood Trust by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC now owns 1,148,565 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,316,000 after buying an additional 134,715 shares during the period. 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.