AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) Short Interest Up 59.3% in August

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 703,441 shares, a growth of 59.3% from the July 30th total of 441,514 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 395,298 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 2.3% of the company’s stock are short sold.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Stock Performance

NYSE:MITT opened at $6.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 22.56, a current ratio of 10.33 and a quick ratio of 10.33. The firm has a market cap of $213.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $7.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.60. AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a 1-year low of $5.93 and a 1-year high of $9.27.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $23.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.13 million. AG Mortgage Investment Trust had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 8.55%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AG Mortgage Investment Trust will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.3%. AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 129.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AG Mortgage Investment Trust

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 105.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,176 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,628 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 103.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,756 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in AG Mortgage Investment Trust during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in AG Mortgage Investment Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. 27.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MITT shares. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust from $10.00 to $9.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. BTIG Research upgraded AG Mortgage Investment Trust from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. JonesTrading reduced their target price on AG Mortgage Investment Trust from $9.00 to $8.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $8.92.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Company Profile

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).