Bridge Investment Group (NYSE:BRDG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BRDG) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 225,657 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 10% from the previous session’s volume of 250,267 shares.The stock last traded at $8.75 and had previously closed at $9.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRDG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Bridge Investment Group from $7.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Bridge Investment Group from $11.50 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 target price (down from $12.00) on shares of Bridge Investment Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $10.80.

Bridge Investment Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 222.06 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $9.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Bridge Investment Group (NYSE:BRDG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $81.96 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.02 million. Bridge Investment Group had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 1.92%. On average, equities analysts expect that Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Bridge Investment Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This is a positive change from Bridge Investment Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Bridge Investment Group’s payout ratio is presently 488.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Katherine Elsnab sold 3,206 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.31, for a total value of $26,641.86. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 297,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,473,945.17. This represents a 1.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Adam O’farrell sold 6,935 shares of Bridge Investment Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.31, for a total value of $57,629.85. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 538,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,471,095.78. The trade was a 1.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,270 shares of company stock worth $567,324. Corporate insiders own 65.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRDG. DigitalBridge Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bridge Investment Group by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. DigitalBridge Group Inc. now owns 508,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,267,000 after buying an additional 99,520 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bridge Investment Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Bridge Investment Group by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 89,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $755,000 after buying an additional 14,481 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bridge Investment Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bridge Investment Group by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 964,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,098,000 after acquiring an additional 141,178 shares in the last quarter. 52.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bridge Investment Group

Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc engages in the real estate investment management business in the United States. It manages capital on behalf of approximately hundred global institutions and 6,500 individual investors across approximately 25 investment vehicles. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.