AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average of $5.98

Shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $5.98 and traded as high as $6.98. AG Mortgage Investment Trust shares last traded at $6.89, with a volume of 70,316 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MITT has been the subject of several research reports. Jonestrading reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $8.00 price target on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.38.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $201.57 million, a PE ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6.00.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.53%. This is an increase from AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Thomas Durkin purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $6.12 per share, with a total value of $306,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 372,832 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,281,731.84. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AG Mortgage Investment Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Beach Point Capital Management LP grew its stake in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 68.0% in the 4th quarter. Beach Point Capital Management LP now owns 575,199 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,653,000 after acquiring an additional 232,895 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 149,984 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 9,092 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its stake in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 132,369 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 51,709 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in AG Mortgage Investment Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $704,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in AG Mortgage Investment Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $280,000. 27.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.