Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) Price Target to $2.50

Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $2.75 to $2.50 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price points to a potential upside of 8.46% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on GPMT. Zacks Research raised Granite Point Mortgage Trust to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Compass Point set a $2.50 target price on Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.83.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $2.31. The company had a trading volume of 19,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,953. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $2.71. The stock has a market cap of $109.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.60 and a beta of 1.72. Granite Point Mortgage Trust has a 12-month low of $1.61 and a 12-month high of $3.19.

Granite Point Mortgage Trust (NYSE:GPMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 25th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Granite Point Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 39.73% and a negative return on equity of 30.39%. The business had revenue of $27.77 million for the quarter. As a group, analysts expect that Granite Point Mortgage Trust will post -2.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Granite Point Mortgage Trust

In other news, Director Hope B. Woodhouse sold 14,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.70, for a total transaction of $39,619.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 94,423 shares in the company, valued at $254,942.10. This trade represents a 13.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Granite Point Mortgage Trust

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Granite Point Mortgage Trust during the third quarter worth about $26,000. May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Granite Point Mortgage Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Granite Point Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. acquired a new position in Granite Point Mortgage Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Granite Point Mortgage Trust during the second quarter worth $31,000. 51.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Granite Point Mortgage Trust

Granite Point Mortgage Trust, Inc is a specialty finance company that invests directly in commercial real estate debt. The company focuses on originating, acquiring and managing senior preferred and mezzanine loans secured by income-producing real estate across diverse property types, including multifamily, office, industrial and retail assets. Granite Point Mortgage Trust operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT), providing investors with exposure to floating-rate commercial mortgage loan investments.

Granite Point’s investment strategy centers on structuring loans to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns, with portfolio allocations spanning senior loans, B-notes and mezzanine financings.