BrightSpire Capital, Inc. (NYSE:BRSP) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

BrightSpire Capital, Inc. (NYSE:BRSP) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,482,993 shares, an increase of 30.5% from the December 15th total of 4,201,543 shares. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 850,888 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 850,888 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.4 days. Approximately 4.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BRSP. B. Riley began coverage on shares of BrightSpire Capital in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $7.50 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of BrightSpire Capital in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of BrightSpire Capital in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.40.

BrightSpire Capital Price Performance

NYSE:BRSP traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $5.96. The stock had a trading volume of 517,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,987. BrightSpire Capital has a 12 month low of $4.16 and a 12 month high of $6.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $772.54 million, a PE ratio of -19.85 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.51.

BrightSpire Capital (NYSE:BRSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.16. BrightSpire Capital had a positive return on equity of 7.51% and a negative net margin of 26.91%.The company had revenue of $35.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that BrightSpire Capital will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current year.

BrightSpire Capital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. BrightSpire Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -213.33%.

Institutional Trading of BrightSpire Capital

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRSP. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of BrightSpire Capital by 240.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 73,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 51,663 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in BrightSpire Capital by 3.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,821,391 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,890,000 after purchasing an additional 54,652 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of BrightSpire Capital by 812.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 9,745 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of BrightSpire Capital during the third quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BrightSpire Capital by 3.5% during the third quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC now owns 131,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 4,465 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.57% of the company’s stock.

BrightSpire Capital Company Profile

BrightSpire Capital Inc (NYSE: BRSP) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in commercial real estate debt. The company primarily originates, acquires and manages a diversified portfolio of mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and preferred equity investments secured by office, retail, industrial, multifamily and hospitality assets across the United States. By focusing on income-producing credit instruments, BrightSpire seeks to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns to its shareholders through regular dividend distributions.

BrightSpire’s investment strategy spans the capital structure of commercial real estate, with an emphasis on senior mortgages that offer more stable cash flows and downside protection.