AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $9.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MITT shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on AG Mortgage Investment Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research raised AG Mortgage Investment Trust from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (up from $9.00) on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AG Mortgage Investment Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Price Performance

NYSE MITT opened at $8.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $267.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06 and a beta of 1.65. AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a 12 month low of $5.63 and a 12 month high of $9.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $8.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.76.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. AG Mortgage Investment Trust had a net margin of 11.03% and a return on equity of 13.88%. The business had revenue of $11.49 million for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that AG Mortgage Investment Trust will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s payout ratio is presently 98.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AG Mortgage Investment Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 173.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,437 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 3,450 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 103.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 2,756 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in AG Mortgage Investment Trust in the first quarter worth $39,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 103.8% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 7,095 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 3,614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 258.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 8,960 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 6,460 shares during the period. 27.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AG Mortgage Investment Trust

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc is a publicly traded, closed-end management investment company that primarily focuses on investing in U.S. residential mortgage assets. The firm seeks to generate current income for its shareholders by acquiring a diversified portfolio of mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities. As an externally managed mortgage real estate investment trust (REIT), AG Mortgage Investment Trust aims to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns through active portfolio management and interest rate hedging strategies.

The company’s investment portfolio is concentrated in adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans, including so-called “jumbo” prime ARMs, as well as Agency and non-Agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS).