Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation (NYSE:CHMI) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest in CHMI surged to 536,221 shares as of June 30, up 109.1% from mid-June, with about 1.5% of the float sold short and a 2.0-day days-to-cover ratio.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: one firm upgraded the stock to strong-buy, while another reiterated a sell rating, leaving the overall consensus at Hold with a $3.00 price target.
• Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment reported quarterly EPS of $0.14, beating estimates, and announced a $0.10 quarterly dividend payable July 31, implying a high annualized yield of 17.3%.

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation (NYSE:CHMI - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 536,221 shares, an increase of 109.1% from the June 15th total of 256,486 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 270,118 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $3.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Naviter Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Glenview Trust co purchased a new stake in Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment by 27,027.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,074 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. 18.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of CHMI traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.31. 170,383 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 196,007. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05 and a beta of 0.92. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment has a 1 year low of $2.17 and a 1 year high of $3.04. The firm's fifty day moving average is $2.40 and its 200-day moving average is $2.55.

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment (NYSE:CHMI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.30 million. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment had a return on equity of 17.95% and a net margin of 18.88%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment will post 0.57 EPS for the current year.

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 17.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment's payout ratio is currently 363.64%.

About Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation is a real estate investment trust that focuses on acquiring, financing and managing residential mortgage loans and mortgage-related securities. The company's portfolio consists primarily of agency and non-agency residential mortgage loans secured by single-family residences, together with mortgage-backed securities issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae.

CHMI employs active portfolio management strategies intended to generate current income and total return for its shareholders.

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