Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) Downgraded to “Underweight” at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research report report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $8.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $8.50 to $8.00 and set an underperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a neutral rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Claros Mortgage Trust presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $8.75.

Claros Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMTG opened at $8.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 28.19, a quick ratio of 28.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. Claros Mortgage Trust has a 12 month low of $6.80 and a 12 month high of $15.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.97 and a beta of 1.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $8.40 and its 200 day moving average is $8.59.

Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.10. Claros Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 3.30% and a negative net margin of 35.47%. The business had revenue of $64.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $64.25 million. Research analysts predict that Claros Mortgage Trust will post 0.15 EPS for the current year.

Claros Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Claros Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -64.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Claros Mortgage Trust

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Claros Mortgage Trust by 11,644.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,609,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,122,000 after buying an additional 14,484,684 shares in the last quarter. Waterfall Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth $4,448,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,425,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,730,000 after purchasing an additional 55,256 shares during the last quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. boosted its position in Claros Mortgage Trust by 400.0% during the second quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Claros Mortgage Trust by 9.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 408,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 36,911 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.