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

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 254,212 shares, a growth of 86.0% from the March 15th total of 136,643 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 195,453 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on GPMT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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. Wall Street Zen cut Granite Point Mortgage Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Granite Point Mortgage Trust to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Compass Point set a $2.05 price target on Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.68.

Institutional Trading of Granite Point Mortgage Trust

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $7,326,000 after buying an additional 134,451 shares in the last quarter. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,894,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,547,000 after buying an additional 97,665 shares in the last quarter. Epiq Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 1,194,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,585,000 after purchasing an additional 28,405 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 9,425.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,007,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 996,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Purpose Unlimited Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at $2,082,000. 51.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Trading Up 2.9%

NYSE:GPMT traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $1.44. The company had a trading volume of 167,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,945. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1.66 and a 200 day moving average of $2.27. The company has a market cap of $68.49 million, a P/E ratio of -1.24 and a beta of 1.72. Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a 1 year low of $1.24 and a 1 year high of $3.12.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $10.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Granite Point Mortgage Trust will post -2.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 13.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. Granite Point Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently -17.24%.

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.