AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) Short Interest Down 24.8% in January

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 285,420 shares, a drop of 24.8% from the January 15th total of 379,484 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 185,409 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 185,409 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on MITT shares. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded AG Mortgage Investment Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on AG Mortgage Investment Trust from $8.50 to $9.25 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Jones Trading reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $8.50 price target on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AG Mortgage Investment Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MITT. CWM LLC raised its holdings in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 173.6% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,437 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 3,450 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 103.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,756 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 103.8% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 3,614 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 258.4% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 8,960 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 6,460 shares in the last quarter. 27.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Price Performance

Shares of MITT stock traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $8.60. The company had a trading volume of 310,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,802. The stock has a market cap of $272.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 1.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $7.95. AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a 52-week low of $5.63 and a 52-week high of $9.27.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This is an increase from AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s payout ratio is currently 98.92%.

About AG Mortgage Investment Trust

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc is a publicly traded, closed-end management investment company that primarily focuses on investing in U.S. residential mortgage assets. The firm seeks to generate current income for its shareholders by acquiring a diversified portfolio of mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. As an externally managed mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT), AG Mortgage Investment Trust aims to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns through active portfolio management and interest rate hedging strategies.

The company’s investment portfolio is concentrated in adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans, including so-called “jumbo” prime ARMs, as well as Agency and non-Agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS).