Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) Trading Up 4.1% – Here’s Why

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG)’s stock price was up 4.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $4.18 and last traded at $4.19. Approximately 678,626 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 30% from the average daily volume of 521,864 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CMTG shares. UBS Group cut their target price on Claros Mortgage Trust from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Claros Mortgage Trust from $4.00 to $2.50 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Claros Mortgage Trust from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Claros Mortgage Trust presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.31.

Claros Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $3.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.31. The stock has a market cap of $577.66 million, a P/E ratio of -2.61 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 20.68 and a current ratio of 25.67.

Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.03. Claros Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 4.72% and a negative net margin of 89.07%. The firm had revenue of $60.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.07 million. On average, research analysts predict that Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Claros Mortgage Trust

In other news, CEO Richard Mack purchased 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.19 per share, with a total value of $366,850.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,564,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,182,289.39. The trade was a 4.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mike Mcgillis bought 24,115 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.30 per share, with a total value of $79,579.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 475,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,570,618.50. This represents a 5.34 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 169,115 shares of company stock worth $547,930 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Claros Mortgage Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CMTG. Koch Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,374,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,552,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 236.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 479,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 336,931 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,679,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,592,000 after buying an additional 277,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 568,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,571,000 after buying an additional 217,989 shares in the last quarter. 89.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.