Short Interest in Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG) Increases By 5.8%

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,290,000 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the May 31st total of 5,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 16.0 days. Currently, 4.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Claros Mortgage Trust Stock Down 0.2 %

CMTG stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $8.01. 116,411 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 328,019. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.94 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 26.27 and a quick ratio of 26.27. Claros Mortgage Trust has a 1 year low of $6.80 and a 1 year high of $15.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $8.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $9.96.

Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.04. Claros Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 28.16% and a positive return on equity of 1.51%. The firm had revenue of $58.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.64 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Claros Mortgage Trust will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Claros Mortgage Trust Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Claros Mortgage Trust’s payout ratio is currently -161.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CMTG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Claros Mortgage Trust from $9.75 to $9.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $11.50 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $11.00 to $9.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $9.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Claros Mortgage Trust news, insider Jeffrey D. Siegel purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.23 per share, with a total value of $36,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 167,242 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,159.66. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director W Edward Walter acquired 7,000 shares of Claros Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $7.21 per share, with a total value of $50,470.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,760 shares in the company, valued at $99,209.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey D. Siegel bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $7.23 per share, with a total value of $36,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 167,242 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,159.66. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 193,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,140. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Claros Mortgage Trust

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Claros Mortgage Trust by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 324,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 2,190 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 32.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Claros Mortgage Trust by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 3,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Claros Mortgage Trust by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 44,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 5,671 shares during the period. 89.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Claros Mortgage Trust Company Profile

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust. It focuses on originating senior and subordinate loans on transitional commercial real estate assets in the United States. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust. As a result, it would not be subject to corporate income tax on that portion of its net income that is distributed to shareholders.