3. PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT)
Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 23
Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $193.97 Million
At the end of March only 19 firms had positions in PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT), but the aggregate amount stood at $287.09 million. An almost 16% slump in the REIT’s stock price during the second quarter is partly attributable to the dip, but that could be about to change as PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT) recently announced plans to buy back up to $150 million of its stock. Since the $1.12 billion company primarily invests in distressed mortgages, it uses much less leverage than its counterparts in the industry. The current dividend yield stands at a towering 15.86%. Omega Advisors, which is led by Leon Cooperman is the largest stockholder of PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust (NYSE:PMT) among the funds that we track, holding 2.60 million shares.
2. New Residential Investment Corp (NYSE:NRZ)
Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 38
Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $892.15 Million
Another REIT on the list that experienced a surge in interest during the second quarter is New Residential Investment Corp (NYSE:NRZ), as only 26 hedge funds had invested $257.91 million in the company at the end of the first quarter. New Residential Investment Corp (NYSE:NRZ)’s stock price is up by more than 10% so far this year and the current yield is about 12.65%. In its financial results for the second quarter, New Residential Investment Corp (NYSE:NRZ) reported an EPS of $0.45 as compared to $0.50 for the same quarter a year earlier. Revenues of $96.31 million, however, marked an increase of 71.6% over the same period. EJF Capital is at the top our list of hedge funds holding New Residential Investment Corp (NYSE:NRZ) in their portfolios, as it owns some 9.22 million shares valued at $140.46 million.
1. Northstar Realty Finance Corp( NYSE:NRF)
Investors with Long Positions (as of June 30): 64
Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of June 30): $1.93 Billion
Not surprisingly, the first spot on this list of high dividend stocks is occupied by an REIT as well. The popularity of Northstar Realty Finance Corp( NYSE:NRF) has, however, slid from 72 funds with an aggregate investment of $2.47 billion at the end of the first quarter. Although the dividend yield of 11.20% is an extremely attractive feature of the stock, it should be borne in mind that the stock price has taken a hit of more than 18% so far this year. Northstar Realty Finance Corp (NYSE:NRF) reported a net loss per share of $0.28 on top of $487.55 million in quarterly revenue, which marked a 308.5% increase on a year-over-year basis. The company made strategic investments in Europe, which its management feels investors are attaching a much lower multiple to than their actual worth. Hence, Northstar Realty Finance Corp (NYSE:NRF) is still on track for its planned spin-off of NorthStar Realty Europe in the coming months. Christian Leone‘s Luxor Capital Group upped its stake in Northstar Realty Finance Corp (NYSE:NRF) by 38% during the second quarter to 18.07 million shares valued at $287.31 million.
Disclosure: None
