Bridge Investment Group (NYSE:BRDG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BRDG) saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 225,657 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 10% from the previous session’s volume of 250,267 shares.The stock last traded at $8.75 and had previously closed at $9.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on BRDG shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Bridge Investment Group from $11.50 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Bridge Investment Group from $7.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $10.80.

Bridge Investment Group Trading Down 12.7 %

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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $944.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 190.67 and a beta of 1.46.

Bridge Investment Group (NYSE:BRDG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.02. Bridge Investment Group had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 1.92%. The company had revenue of $81.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.02 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bridge Investment Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This is a boost from Bridge Investment Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Bridge Investment Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 488.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bridge Investment Group

In other news, CFO Katherine Elsnab sold 3,206 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.31, for a total transaction of $26,641.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,473,945.17. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Robert Randolph Morse sold 47,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.31, for a total transaction of $392,664.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 3,157,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,236,922.01. This trade represents a 1.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,270 shares of company stock worth $567,324 in the last ninety days. 65.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Bridge Investment Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Bridge Investment Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,295,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,879,000 after acquiring an additional 8,218 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bridge Investment Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $102,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Bridge Investment Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,000. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in Bridge Investment Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $110,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Bridge Investment Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.83% of the company’s stock.

About Bridge Investment Group

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.