Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation (NYSE:CHMI) Short Interest Up 46.8% in March

Key Points

• Short interest rose 46.8% in March to 557,219 shares (about 1.5% of shares sold short), leaving a short-interest ratio of 1.7 days and signaling increased bearish bets.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 (annualized $0.40) for a 15.2% yield, payable Apr 30 with an ex-dividend date of Mar 31, though the payout ratio is a negative -307.69%, raising sustainability concerns.
• CHMI trades around $2.64 with a market cap of about $96.8M; it reported quarterly EPS of $0.11 (in line with estimates) and revenue of $11.76M versus $2.45M expected, while analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with a $3.00 average price target.

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation (NYSE:CHMI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 557,219 shares, an increase of 46.8% from the March 15th total of 379,657 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 330,224 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Stock Down 0.9%

CHMI stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $2.64. The company had a trading volume of 101,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 193,128. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment has a one year low of $2.17 and a one year high of $3.31. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $2.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.81 million, a P/E ratio of -20.27 and a beta of 1.01.

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment (NYSE:CHMI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment had a return on equity of 16.21% and a net margin of 7.28%.The firm had revenue of $11.76 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment's payout ratio is -307.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on CHMI. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Credit Suisse Group set a $3.00 price target on shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment from $2.75 to $3.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $3.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CHMI. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Naviter Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Glenview Trust co acquired a new position in shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment during the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment by 27,027.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,074 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring 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 Company Profile

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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