Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) Stock Short Interest Jumps 108.7%

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 608,476 shares, an increase of 108.7% from the September 15th total of 291,508 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 264,092 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 13.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:GPMT traded up $0.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $5.40. 37,607 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 21,177. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.62. Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a 52-week low of $5.28 and a 52-week high of $28.50. The company has a market cap of $26.05 million, a P/E ratio of -0.27 and a beta of 1.64.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($7.90) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.90) by ($4.00). Granite Point Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 73.75% and a negative return on equity of 10.25%. The business had revenue of $8.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.85 million. Equities analysts expect that Granite Point Mortgage Trust will post -15.30 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This is a drop from Granite Point Mortgage Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Granite Point Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Point Mortgage Trust

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 140.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 87,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 50,926 shares in the last quarter. Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new position in Granite Point Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth $2,082,000. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 0.5% in the first quarter. Cura Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,905,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,762,000 after acquiring an additional 10,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantum Portfolio Management LLC purchased a new position in Granite Point Mortgage Trust in the first quarter valued at about $66,580,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on GPMT shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Granite Point Mortgage Trust to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust from $15.00 to $12.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a report on Thursday, July 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $13.33.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc (NYSE:GPMT) is a real estate investment trust focused on commercial real estate finance. The company primarily originates, acquires and manages commercial mortgage loans and other debt investments secured by properties in the United States.

Its portfolio is centered on floating-rate senior mortgage loans, including loans for transitional commercial properties that may require leasing, renovation, redevelopment or other improvements. Granite Point generally provides financing to owners and investors of office, multifamily, hotel, industrial, retail and other commercial real estate assets.

Granite Point was established in 2015 and became a publicly traded company in 2017.