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

AG Mortgage Investment Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MITT) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.1667.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MITT shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Credit Suisse Group set a $9.25 price target on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a report on Thursday. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on AG Mortgage Investment Trust from $8.50 to $9.25 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jones Trading reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $8.50 price objective on shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust in a report on Tuesday, November 4th.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Stock Performance

Shares of MITT opened at $8.83 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.86. The stock has a market cap of $280.36 million, a P/E ratio of 9.50 and a beta of 1.65. AG Mortgage Investment Trust has a one year low of $5.63 and a one year high of $9.27.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:MITT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.23. AG Mortgage Investment Trust had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 11.03%.The firm had revenue of $30.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.80 million. Analysts predict that AG Mortgage Investment Trust will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a boost from AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.4%. AG Mortgage Investment Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AG Mortgage Investment Trust

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Angelo Gordon & CO. L.P. lifted its stake in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 703.3% in the 3rd quarter. Angelo Gordon & CO. L.P. now owns 2,315,966 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,676 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 4.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 686,894 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,187,000 after acquiring an additional 26,315 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 5.0% in the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 306,280 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 14,700 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 30.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 255,724 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 59,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of AG Mortgage Investment Trust by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 168,478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350 shares during the period. 27.32% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AG Mortgage Investment Trust Company Profile

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).