5 Hold-Rated Dividend Stocks

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

TheStreet Ratings' stock model projects a stock's total return potential over a 12-month period including both price appreciation and dividends. Our Buy, Hold or Sell ratings designate how we expect these stocks to perform against a general benchmark of the equities market and interest rates.

While plenty of high-yield opportunities exist, investors must always consider the safety of their dividend and the total return potential of their investment. It is not uncommon for a struggling company to suspend high-yielding dividends and subsequently result in precipitous share price declines.

TheStreet Ratings' stock rating model views dividends favorably, but not so much that other factors are disregarded. Our model gauges the relationship between risk and reward in several ways, including: the pricing drawdown as compared to potential profit volatility, i.e. how much one is willing to risk in order to earn profits?; the level of acceptable volatility for highly performing stocks; the current valuation as compared to projected earnings growth; and the financial strength of the underlying company as compared to its stock's valuation as compared to its stock's performance.

These and many more derived observations are then combined, ranked, weighted, and scenario-tested to create a more complete analysis. The result is a systematic and disciplined method of selecting stocks. As always, stock ratings should not be treated as gospel — rather, use them as a starting point for your own research.

The following pages contain our analysis of 5 stocks with substantial yields, that ultimately, we have rated "Hold."

Redwood

Dividend Yield: 4.90%

Redwood (NYSE:RWT) shares currently have a dividend yield of 4.90%.

Redwood Trust, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT), together with its subsidiaries, engages in investing, financing, and managing real estate assets. The company has a P/E ratio of 14.38. Currently there are 4 analysts that rate Redwood a buy, 1 analyst rates it a sell, and 2 rate it a hold.

The average volume for Redwood has been 887,200 shares per day over the past 30 days. Redwood has a market cap of $1.9 billion and is part of the real estate industry. Shares are up 39.7% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

TheStreet Ratings rates Redwood as a hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth and compelling growth in net income. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the company's revenue growth has not been good.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Powered by its strong earnings growth of 1766.66% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 83.00% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Regarding the stock's future course, our hold rating indicates that we do not recommend additional investment in this stock despite its gains in the past year.

• REDWOOD TRUST INC reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past two years. We feel that this trend should continue. This trend suggests that the performance of the business is improving. During the past fiscal year, REDWOOD TRUST INC increased its bottom line by earning $1.59 versus $0.31 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($1.60 versus $1.59).

• The gross profit margin for REDWOOD TRUST INC is rather high; currently it is at 59.20%. Regardless of RWT's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, RWT's net profit margin of 78.80% significantly outperformed against the industry.

• Current return on equity exceeded its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a clear sign of strength within the company. Compared to other companies in the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, REDWOOD TRUST INC has outperformed in comparison with the industry average, but has underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500.

• RWT, with its decline in revenue, underperformed when compared the industry average of 16.4%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 5.5%. The declining revenue has not hurt the company's bottom line, with increasing earnings per share.

• You can view the full Redwood Ratings Report.

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For more information on Redwood Trust Inc. click any of the following:

• Redwood Trust Inc. Stock Price

• Redwood Trust Inc. Analyst Ratings

• Redwood Trust Inc. Key Stats & Profile

• Redwood Trust Inc. Earnings

• Redwood Trust Inc. Ratio Comparison

• Redwood Trust Inc. Growth Rates

• Redwood Trust Inc. Balance Sheet

• Redwood Trust Inc. Cash Flow

• Redwood Trust Inc. Income Statement