JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) Stock Price

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $6.50 to $5.50 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 0.63% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on RWT. StockNews.com upgraded Redwood Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.00 target price on shares of Redwood Trust in a report on Friday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Redwood Trust currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.50.

Redwood Trust Stock Performance

RWT stock opened at $5.54 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.66. The company has a market capitalization of $736.06 million, a P/E ratio of 16.77 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 44.36, a current ratio of 44.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.09. Redwood Trust has a fifty-two week low of $4.68 and a fifty-two week high of $8.15.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.03). Redwood Trust had a return on equity of 6.91% and a net margin of 9.35%. The company had revenue of $27.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.00 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Redwood Trust will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sovran Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Redwood Trust during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 86.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 10,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 4,788 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in Redwood Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,000. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in Redwood Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Redwood Trust by 239.3% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 8,863 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.