Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) Short Interest Down 58.2% in December

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 79,522 shares, a decrease of 58.2% from the December 15th total of 190,416 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 257,174 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 257,174 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust from $2.75 to $2.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Compass Point set a $2.50 target price on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.83.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of GPMT stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $2.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 238,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,483. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $2.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.70. The company has a market cap of $107.37 million, a P/E ratio of -1.57 and a beta of 1.72. Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a 1-year low of $1.61 and a 1-year high of $3.19.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th will be given a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 30th. Granite Point Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is -13.89%.

Insider Transactions at Granite Point Mortgage Trust

In other Granite Point Mortgage Trust news, Director Hope B. Woodhouse sold 14,674 shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Point Mortgage Trust

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GPMT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,442,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,326,000 after buying an additional 134,451 shares in the last quarter. Epiq Partners LLC grew its position in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 2.4% in the third quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 1,194,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,585,000 after acquiring an additional 28,405 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 9,425.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,007,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,488,000 after acquiring an additional 996,647 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 1,020.8% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 720,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 656,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 9.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 602,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,565,000 after acquiring an additional 51,780 shares during the period. 51.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.