AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) Short Interest Update

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 453,200 shares, an increase of 41.4% from the January 31st total of 320,500 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 254,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $8.50 price target on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.25.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Stock Performance

AG Mortgage Investment Trust stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $7.57. The stock had a trading volume of 75,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,982. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $7.09. AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a 1-year low of $5.44 and a 1-year high of $7.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.39 million, a P/E ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 2.00.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.01). AG Mortgage Investment Trust had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 20.19%. The business had revenue of $22.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.44 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AG Mortgage Investment Trust will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 10.04%. AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AG Mortgage Investment Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MITT. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 663,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,980,000 after purchasing an additional 36,081 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 344,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,655,000 after buying an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 278,109 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,849,000 after buying an additional 25,736 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 195,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 9,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 169,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 3,546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.32% of the company’s stock.

About AG Mortgage Investment Trust

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc operates as a residential mortgage real estate investment trust in the United States. Its investment portfolio includes residential investments, including non-agency loans, agency-eligible loans, re-and non-performing loans, and non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities, as well as commercial loans and commercial mortgage-backed securities.