Short Interest in AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) Declines By 12.5%

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) was the target of a large drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 379,484 shares, a drop of 12.5% from the December 31st total of 433,602 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 193,347 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 193,347 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:MITT opened at $8.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $276.39 million, a P/E ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.90. AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a 52 week low of $5.63 and a 52 week high of $9.27.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23. AG Mortgage Investment Trust had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 11.03%.The firm had revenue of $30.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.80 million. Sell-side analysts expect that AG Mortgage Investment Trust will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. This is an increase from AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s payout ratio is 98.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MITT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jones Trading reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $8.50 target price on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Credit Suisse Group set a $9.25 price objective on AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (up previously from $9.00) on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of 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 upped their target price on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $9.17.

Institutional Trading of AG Mortgage Investment Trust

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MITT. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 0.8% during the second quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 168,478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,128,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 686,894 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,187,000 after purchasing an additional 26,315 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 82,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. 27.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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).