Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) Short Interest Up 21.7% in February

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,040,000 shares, a growth of 21.7% from the January 31st total of 854,300 shares. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 396,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Insider Activity at Granite Point Mortgage Trust

In other Granite Point Mortgage Trust news, Director Patrick Gregory Halter purchased 34,001 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2.80 per share, with a total value of $95,202.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 34,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,202.80. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 34,770 shares of company stock valued at $108,849. 2.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Point Mortgage Trust

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GPMT. Gratia Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth $1,953,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 209.2% during the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 493,848 shares of the company's stock worth $1,378,000 after acquiring an additional 334,109 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $634,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 121.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 281,251 shares of the company's stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 154,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 120.4% during the fourth quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 243,265 shares of the company's stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 132,903 shares during the last quarter. 51.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Trading Down 0.5 %

GPMT traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $2.80. 285,556 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 369,683. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $2.87 and a 200 day moving average of $2.99. The firm has a market cap of $136.54 million, a P/E ratio of -0.64 and a beta of 1.89. Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a 12-month low of $2.46 and a 12-month high of $5.01.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported ($1.99) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.73) by ($1.26). The company had revenue of $7.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.90 million. Granite Point Mortgage Trust had a negative return on equity of 14.08% and a negative net margin of 111.59%. As a group, research analysts expect that Granite Point Mortgage Trust will post -2.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.16%. Granite Point Mortgage Trust's dividend payout ratio is currently -4.56%.

About Granite Point Mortgage Trust

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.