Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.18 Per Share

Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 12th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 23rd will be given a dividend of 0.18 per share by the real estate investment trust on Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.53%. This is an increase from Redwood Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17.

Redwood Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 86.1% meaning its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the company’s earnings decline. Equities research analysts expect Redwood Trust to earn $0.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 86.1%.

Redwood Trust Price Performance

RWT stock opened at $6.84 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $7.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.14. Redwood Trust has a one year low of $5.45 and a one year high of $8.15. The company has a market capitalization of $904.73 million, a PE ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.55, a quick ratio of 44.36 and a current ratio of 44.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RWT has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Redwood Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.50 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Redwood Trust from $7.50 to $8.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their target price on Redwood Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.