BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 1,932 Shares of Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,932 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Redwood Trust were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 66,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Redwood Trust by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC now owns 14,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Redwood Trust by 65.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 2,043 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Redwood Trust by 7.8% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,849 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Redwood Trust by 13.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 36,834 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 4,230 shares during the last quarter. 74.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Redwood Trust Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of RWT opened at $7.10 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.16. The company has a quick ratio of 44.36, a current ratio of 44.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $938.46 million, a PE ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 1.57. Redwood Trust, Inc. has a 12-month low of $5.45 and a 12-month high of $8.15.

Redwood Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.15%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 23rd. This is a positive change from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 123.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on RWT shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Redwood Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Redwood Trust from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Redwood Trust in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities raised their target price on Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.03.

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.