AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) Price Target Raised to $9.00

AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) had its price objective raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $8.50 to $9.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MITT. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Jones Trading restated a “buy” rating and set a $8.50 target price on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research raised AG Mortgage Investment Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on AG Mortgage Investment Trust from $8.75 to $9.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.70.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Stock Performance

AG Mortgage Investment Trust stock opened at $8.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.11 million, a PE ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.63. AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a one year low of $5.63 and a one year high of $8.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $7.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.63.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. AG Mortgage Investment Trust had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $11.49 million for the quarter. On average, analysts forecast that AG Mortgage Investment Trust will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 presently 90.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AG Mortgage Investment Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 28.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 85,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 18,875 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 25.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 103,132 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $753,000 after acquiring an additional 20,847 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $378,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in AG Mortgage Investment Trust during the first quarter worth $168,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in AG Mortgage Investment Trust during the first quarter worth $927,000. 27.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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).