Two Harbors Investment (NYSE:TWO) Given “Market Outperform” Rating at JMP Securities

JMP Securities reiterated their market outperform rating on shares of Two Harbors Investment (NYSE:TWO) in a research note published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $14.00 price target on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

TWO has been the subject of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Two Harbors Investment to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Compass Point cut their price target on shares of Two Harbors Investment from $15.75 to $14.75 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Two Harbors Investment from $11.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Two Harbors Investment from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $13.54.

Two Harbors Investment Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE TWO opened at $11.81 on Thursday. Two Harbors Investment has a 52-week low of $10.84 and a 52-week high of $14.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $11.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Two Harbors Investment (NYSE:TWO) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.22). Two Harbors Investment had a negative net margin of 87.84% and a positive return on equity of 4.45%. The company had revenue of $112.64 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.01) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Two Harbors Investment will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Two Harbors Investment Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. Two Harbors Investment’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -37.34%.

Insider Activity at Two Harbors Investment

In related news, CIO Nicholas Letica sold 6,040 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.13, for a total value of $67,225.20. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 174,672 shares in the company, valued at $1,944,099.36. The trade was a 3.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Rebecca B. Sandberg sold 3,785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.14, for a total transaction of $42,164.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 152,378 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,697,490.92. This trade represents a 2.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,754 shares of company stock valued at $333,307 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Two Harbors Investment

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Two Harbors Investment by 1,680.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,225 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Two Harbors Investment in the third quarter worth $64,000. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Two Harbors Investment by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 3,077 shares in the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Two Harbors Investment during the third quarter valued at $134,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Two Harbors Investment during the 2nd quarter worth about $147,000. 64.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Two Harbors Investment

Two Harbors Investment Corp. invests in, finances, and manages mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), and other financial assets through RoundPoint in the United States. The company target assets include agency RMBS collateralized by fixed rate mortgage loans, adjustable rate mortgage loans, hybrid mortgage loans, or derivatives; and other assets, such as financial and mortgage-related assets, including non-agency securities and non-hedging transactions.