Short Interest in Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) Rises By 31.9%

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 50,073 shares, a growth of 31.9% from the January 15th total of 37,968 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 179,389 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 179,389 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Stock Down 10.3%

Shares of GPMT stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $1.75. 507,022 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 188,462. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $2.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.64. The company has a market cap of $82.97 million, a P/E ratio of -1.51 and a beta of 1.71. Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a 12 month low of $1.61 and a 12 month high of $3.12.

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

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 30th were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 30th. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 11.4%. Granite Point Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -17.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on GPMT. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on 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. Wall Street Zen raised Granite Point Mortgage Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Compass Point set a $2.05 price target on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.68.

Institutional Trading of Granite Point Mortgage Trust

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 51.63% of the company’s stock.

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.