Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) Price Target to $2.50

Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) had its price target trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $2.75 to $2.50 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Compass Point set a $2.50 price objective on Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised Granite Point Mortgage Trust to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Granite Point Mortgage Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.83.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Stock Down 1.1%

GPMT opened at $2.26 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $2.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.70. Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a 52-week low of $1.61 and a 52-week high of $3.19. The company has a market cap of $106.91 million, a P/E ratio of -1.57 and a beta of 1.72.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 25th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $27.77 million during the quarter. Granite Point Mortgage Trust had a negative return on equity of 30.39% and a negative net margin of 39.73%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Granite Point Mortgage Trust will post -2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 30th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.9%. Granite Point Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -13.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Hope B. Woodhouse sold 14,674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.70, for a total value of $39,619.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 94,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $254,942.10. The trade was a 13.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Point Mortgage Trust

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.63% of the company’s stock.

About Granite Point Mortgage Trust

Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc is a specialty finance company that invests directly in commercial real estate debt. The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing senior preferred and mezzanine loans secured by income-producing real estate across diverse property types, including multifamily, office, industrial and retail assets. Granite Point Mortgage Trust operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT), providing investors with exposure to floating-rate commercial mortgage loan investments.

Granite Point’s investment strategy centers on structuring loans to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns, with portfolio allocations spanning senior loans, B-notes and mezzanine financings.