BrightSpire Capital, Inc. (NYSE:BRSP) Short Interest Up 39.0% in February

BrightSpire Capital, Inc. (NYSE:BRSP) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,110,000 shares, an increase of 39.0% from the February 13th total of 798,500 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 698,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. B. Riley decreased their price objective on shares of BrightSpire Capital from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Alliance Global Partners assumed coverage on shares of BrightSpire Capital in a report on Friday, January 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $7.25 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.69.

BrightSpire Capital Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BRSP opened at $5.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $774.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.69 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.84 and a 200-day moving average of $5.87. BrightSpire Capital has a fifty-two week low of $5.07 and a fifty-two week high of $7.04.

BrightSpire Capital (NYSE:BRSP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.03). BrightSpire Capital had a positive return on equity of 8.82% and a negative net margin of 79.23%. The business had revenue of $17.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $65.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BrightSpire Capital will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BrightSpire Capital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.71%. BrightSpire Capital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -60.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BrightSpire Capital

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in BrightSpire Capital by 34.5% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 30,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 7,779 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of BrightSpire Capital by 5.0% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 339,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 16,201 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of BrightSpire Capital during the third quarter worth $133,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of BrightSpire Capital by 363.1% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 7,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BrightSpire Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $163,000. 56.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BrightSpire Capital

BrightSpire Capital, Inc operates as a commercial real estate (CRE) credit real estate investment trust in the United States and Europe. The company operates through Senior and Mezzanine Loans and Preferred Equity; Net Leased and Other Real Estate; and Corporate and Other segments. It focuses on originating, acquiring, financing, and managing a diversified portfolio of CRE debt investments consisting of first mortgage loans, senior loans, debt securities, mezzanine loans, and preferred equity investments, as well as net leased properties.