Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BRDG) Short Interest Up 21.8% in December

Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BRDG) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 428,600 shares, an increase of 21.8% from the December 15th total of 351,900 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 240,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on BRDG. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Bridge Investment Group from $10.50 to $10.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Bridge Investment Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Bridge Investment Group from $7.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $10.00 target price (down previously from $12.00) on shares of Bridge Investment Group in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Bridge Investment Group from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jonathan Slager sold 11,403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.29, for a total value of $94,530.87. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 962,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,978,967.49. This represents a 1.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Dean Allara sold 10,877 shares of Bridge Investment Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.31, for a total value of $90,387.87. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 662,473 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,505,150.63. This trade represents a 1.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 145,187 shares of company stock worth $1,204,966. Corporate insiders own 73.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bridge Investment Group

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BRDG. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Bridge Investment Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,370,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,271,000 after acquiring an additional 74,779 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Bridge Investment Group by 288.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,509,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120,549 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Bridge Investment Group by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,286,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,383,000 after purchasing an additional 14,235 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Bridge Investment Group by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 773,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,632,000 after buying an additional 8,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Bridge Investment Group by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 407,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after buying an additional 40,975 shares during the last quarter. 52.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Bridge Investment Group Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BRDG opened at $7.89 on Friday. Bridge Investment Group has a 1 year low of $6.18 and a 1 year high of $11.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $8.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $955.08 million, a PE ratio of 197.25 and a beta of 1.57.

Bridge Investment Group (NYSE:BRDG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.03). Bridge Investment Group had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 1.92%. The company had revenue of $101.51 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $85.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. Analysts expect that Bridge Investment Group will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bridge Investment Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Bridge Investment Group’s payout ratio is 1,000.25%.

Bridge Investment Group Company Profile

Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc engages in the real estate investment management business in the United States. It manages capital on behalf of approximately hundred global institutions and 6,500 individual investors across approximately 25 investment vehicles. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.