AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 379,484 shares, a decline of 12.5% from the December 31st total of 433,602 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 193,347 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 193,347 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AG Mortgage Investment Trust

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 3,450 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 103.7% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,756 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in AG Mortgage Investment Trust during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 103.8% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MITT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group set a $9.25 price target on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jones Trading reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.50 price target on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on AG Mortgage Investment Trust from $8.50 to $9.25 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on AG Mortgage Investment Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $9.17.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Price Performance

NYSE MITT opened at $8.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.71 million, a P/E ratio of 9.31 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $8.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.91. AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a one year low of $5.63 and a one year high of $9.27.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. AG Mortgage Investment Trust had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The company had revenue of $30.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.80 million. Equities analysts expect that AG Mortgage Investment Trust will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.6%. This is a boost from AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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).