Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) Short Interest Down 5.5% in July

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc. (NYSE:GPMT) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 766,200 shares, a drop of 5.5% from the June 30th total of 811,100 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 503,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen G. Kasnet sold 27,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.08, for a total value of $83,243.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 121,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $372,883.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Granite Point Mortgage Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,022,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,076,000 after buying an additional 181,062 shares in the last quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC increased its position in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 68.3% in the fourth quarter. Camelot Portfolios LLC now owns 362,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,154,000 after purchasing an additional 147,081 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 115.7% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 209,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 112,523 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 293.0% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 93,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 69,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Relative Value Partners Group LLC grew its stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Relative Value Partners Group LLC now owns 616,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,664,000 after buying an additional 65,057 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Granite Point Mortgage Trust from $3.85 to $3.25 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GPMT opened at $2.95 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $3.03 and a 200 day moving average of $4.11. The stock has a market cap of $150.28 million, a P/E ratio of -1.27 and a beta of 1.79. Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a 12 month low of $2.68 and a 12 month high of $6.41.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st were issued a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.79%. Granite Point Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently -8.66%.

About Granite Point Mortgage Trust

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Inc, a real estate investment trust, originates, invests in, and manages senior floating-rate commercial mortgage loans, and other debt and debt-like commercial real estate investments in the United States. The company provides intermediate-term bridge or transitional financing for various purposes, including acquisitions, recapitalizations, and refinancing, as well as a range of business plans, including lease-up, renovation, repositioning, and repurposing of the commercial property.