Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) by 13.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 801,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,507 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Redwood Trust were worth $5,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 641.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,705 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 3,205 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Redwood Trust during the 4th quarter valued at $107,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Redwood Trust by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,807 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 3,662 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Redwood Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in Redwood Trust by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 24,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RWT shares. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.00 price target on shares of Redwood Trust in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $6.50 price target on shares of Redwood Trust in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Redwood Trust from $7.75 to $7.25 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Redwood Trust presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $7.66.

Insider Activity

In other Redwood Trust news, CFO Brooke Carillo purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $6.25 per share, with a total value of $93,750.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 56,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $354,825. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Redwood Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RWT traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $6.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 309,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,256,652. Redwood Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $5.45 and a 1-year high of $8.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $6.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.66, a quick ratio of 9.09 and a current ratio of 9.09. The firm has a market cap of $855.03 million, a P/E ratio of 92.14 and a beta of 1.58.

Redwood Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st were issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 21st. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 914.29%.

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.