Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,300,000 shares, an increase of 19.3% from the February 28th total of 1,090,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 391,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GPMT. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Granite Point Mortgage Trust from $3.75 to $3.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $3.00 to $3.25 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Patrick Gregory Halter purchased 34,001 shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $2.80 per share, with a total value of $95,202.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,001 shares in the company, valued at $95,202.80. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 34,770 shares of company stock valued at $108,849. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Point Mortgage Trust

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Granite Point Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 112.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 28,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 14,941 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 32,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 4,015 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 64,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 34,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 120.4% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 243,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 132,903 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.63% of the company’s stock.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Trading Up 1.2 %

Granite Point Mortgage Trust stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.54. The company had a trading volume of 184,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,597. Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a 1-year low of $2.46 and a 1-year high of $4.60. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.00. The stock has a market cap of $124.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.58 and a beta of 1.46.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported ($1.99) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.73) by ($1.26). The firm had revenue of $7.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.90 million. Granite Point Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 111.59% and a negative return on equity of 14.08%. As a group, analysts forecast that Granite Point Mortgage Trust will post -2.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.87%. Granite Point Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -4.56%.

About Granite Point Mortgage Trust

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc, a real estate investment trust, originates, invests in, and manages senior floating-rate commercial mortgage loans, and other debt and debt-like commercial real estate investments in the United States. The company provides intermediate-term bridge or transitional financing for various purposes, including acquisitions, recapitalizations, and refinancing, as well as a range of business plans, including lease-up, renovation, repositioning, and repurposing of the commercial property.