Redwood Trust Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:RWT)

Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE:RWT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 3,498 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 731% compared to the average daily volume of 421 put options.

Redwood Trust Price Performance

RWT stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $3.19. 233,330 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,649,134. The stock has a market cap of $401.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.47 and a beta of 1.49. Redwood Trust has a one year low of $2.69 and a one year high of $6.97. The company has a current ratio of 67.49, a quick ratio of 67.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 31.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.96.

Redwood Trust (NYSE:RWT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $12.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.52 million. Redwood Trust had a return on equity of 16.00% and a net margin of 0.42%. Equities analysts expect that Redwood Trust will post 0.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Redwood Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 22.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 23rd. Redwood Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -211.76%.

Insider Transactions at Redwood Trust

In other news, President Dashiell I. Robinson acquired 63,211 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.98 per share, for a total transaction of $251,579.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 395,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,572,299. This trade represents a 19.05% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg H. Kubicek bought 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.85 per share, with a total value of $192,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 127,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $489,662.25. This represents a 64.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders bought 244,171 shares of company stock worth $948,402. Insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Redwood Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in shares of Redwood Trust by 2,034.5% in the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 10,779 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 10,274 shares during the last quarter. Range Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Redwood Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Evanson Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Redwood Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 18.5% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,113 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 2,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Redwood Trust by 35.3% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 18,584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 4,847 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on RWT shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Redwood Trust from $6.00 to $3.50 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Redwood Trust from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. JonesTrading lowered their target price on shares of Redwood Trust from $6.25 to $6.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Redwood Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Redwood Trust from $5.50 to $4.75 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.94.

About Redwood Trust

Redwood Trust, Inc is a specialty finance company and real estate investment trust headquartered in Mill Valley, California. Founded in 1994 and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RWT, the company focuses on investing in and financing residential real estate credit.

Redwood Trust’s activities include acquiring, originating, securitizing and managing residential mortgage loans and related assets. Its portfolio has historically included jumbo and other non-agency residential mortgages, mortgage-backed securities, mortgage servicing rights and other residential credit investments.