Two Harbors Investments (NYSE:TWO) Shares Down 8% – Time to Sell?

Two Harbors Investments Corp (NYSE:TWO) shares were down 8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $9.89 and last traded at $9.8270. Approximately 604,289 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 3,095,175 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Two Harbors Investments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Zacks Research cut Two Harbors Investments from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Two Harbors Investments in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Two Harbors Investments from $13.50 to $12.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Two Harbors Investments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $12.88.

Two Harbors Investments Trading Down 8.9%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.98 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Two Harbors Investments (NYSE:TWO) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.04). Two Harbors Investments had a positive return on equity of 12.00% and a negative net margin of 109.90%.The business had revenue of $182.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of ($15.44) million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Two Harbors Investments Corp will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Two Harbors Investments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 5th were issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 14.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 5th. Two Harbors Investments’s payout ratio is -27.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Alecia Hanson sold 10,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.41, for a total transaction of $122,862.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,288 shares in the company, valued at $516,736.08. This trade represents a 19.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Rebecca B. Sandberg sold 27,370 shares of Two Harbors Investments stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.43, for a total value of $312,839.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 156,718 shares in the company, valued at $1,791,286.74. This trade represents a 14.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 129,389 shares of company stock valued at $1,483,046 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Two Harbors Investments

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Two Harbors Investments in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 695.6% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,421 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 2,991 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 240.4% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 3,370 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 2,380 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Two Harbors Investments by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Two Harbors Investments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. 64.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Two Harbors Investments Company Profile

Two Harbors Investments Corp. is a mortgage real estate investment trust (mREIT) that primarily invests in residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) issued or guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises, as well as non-agency residential mortgage loans, mortgage servicing rights and credit risk transfer securities. The company seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for its shareholders by employing leverage to enhance net interest income derived from its portfolio of high-quality fixed-income assets.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Two Harbors operates through a self-managed platform that combines portfolio management, risk-management and securitization expertise.