Wedbush Boosts Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Price Target to $7.00

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) had its target price boosted by Wedbush from $6.50 to $7.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. Wedbush also issued estimates for Redwood Trust’s Q3 2024 earnings at $0.14 EPS.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on RWT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Redwood Trust from $7.75 to $7.25 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Redwood Trust from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Redwood Trust from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $7.81.

Redwood Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RWT traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.88. 983,746 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,227,521. The company has a market cap of $909.19 million, a P/E ratio of 96.57 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.26, a quick ratio of 9.09 and a current ratio of 9.09. Redwood Trust has a twelve month low of $5.45 and a twelve month high of $8.30.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.01. Redwood Trust had a return on equity of 4.86% and a net margin of 5.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Redwood Trust will post 0.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Redwood Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 21st were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 21st. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.30%. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio is 914.29%.

Insider Activity

In other Redwood Trust news, CFO Brooke Carillo acquired 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $6.25 per share, with a total value of $93,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 56,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $354,825. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Redwood Trust

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RWT. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Redwood Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $69,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Redwood Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Redwood Trust by 26.5% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 14,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Redwood Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $107,000. 74.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.