Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) Short Interest Down 15.4% in September

Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,520,000 shares, a decline of 15.4% from the August 31st total of 5,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 874,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days.

Redwood Trust Price Performance

RWT traded up $0.09 on Friday, reaching $7.75. 679,024 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 788,656. Redwood Trust has a twelve month low of $5.45 and a twelve month high of $8.15. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 110.71 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.97, a current ratio of 50.47 and a quick ratio of 50.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $7.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.70.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Redwood Trust will post 0.5 EPS for the current year.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 23rd will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 23rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.77%. This is an increase from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 971.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on RWT shares. Piper Sandler raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Raymond James raised their price objective on Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Redwood Trust from $8.00 to $8.50 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.08.

Institutional Trading of Redwood Trust

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Redwood Trust by 13.0% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,103,231 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,182,000 after buying an additional 127,143 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Redwood Trust by 164.4% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 7,035,524 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Redwood Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Redwood Trust by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 69,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 2,993 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 21.7% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 976,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,336,000 after buying an additional 174,317 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.