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

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 126,892 shares, an increase of 113.0% from the February 12th total of 59,579 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 262,842 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 262,842 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Price Performance

GPMT traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $1.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 24,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,843. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $2.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.53. Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a twelve month low of $1.61 and a twelve month high of $3.12. The stock has a market cap of $76.81 million, a PE ratio of -1.39 and a beta of 1.71.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.16) by $0.10. Granite Point Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 31.24% and a negative return on equity of 15.52%. The company had revenue of $10.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.22 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Granite Point Mortgage Trust will post -2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 30th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.4%. Granite Point Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -17.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Granite Point Mortgage Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 68.3% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 8,658 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 473.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 156,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 129,222 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at $113,000. Truffle Hound Capital LLC bought a new position in Granite Point Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at $988,000. Finally, Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GPMT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust from $2.75 to $2.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Granite Point Mortgage Trust to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Compass Point set a $2.05 target price on Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.68.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.