AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) Short Interest Up 24.7% in December

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 543,800 shares, an increase of 24.7% from the December 15th total of 436,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 240,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered AG Mortgage Investment Trust from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.25.

Institutional Trading of AG Mortgage Investment Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MITT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 35,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 54.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,778 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 17,243 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 5.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 663,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,980,000 after purchasing an additional 36,081 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $94,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust during the 3rd quarter valued at $86,000. 27.32% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Price Performance

NYSE:MITT traded up $0.02 on Friday, reaching $6.55. The stock had a trading volume of 212,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,175. The company has a market cap of $193.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $6.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.11. AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a 12-month low of $5.44 and a 12-month high of $7.95.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.33%.

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.