Short Interest in Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) Increases By 19.3%

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,300,000 shares, a growth of 19.3% from the February 28th total of 1,090,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 391,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Point Mortgage Trust

In other news, Director Patrick Gregory Halter bought 34,001 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.80 per share, for a total transaction of $95,202.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $95,202.80. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have purchased 34,770 shares of company stock worth $108,849 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Point Mortgage Trust

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GPMT shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust from $3.75 to $3.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Granite Point Mortgage Trust from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $3.00 to $3.25 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Stock Down 4.9 %

GPMT traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $2.42. The company had a trading volume of 164,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,645. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $2.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.00. Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a 52 week low of $2.42 and a 52 week high of $4.60. The company has a market capitalization of $117.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.55 and a beta of 1.46.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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%. Research analysts predict that Granite Point Mortgage Trust will post -2.75 EPS for the current year.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.28%. Granite Point Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -4.56%.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Company Profile

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.