Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) Stock Price Down 3.7%

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG) shares were down 3.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $8.32 and last traded at $8.40. Approximately 9,718 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 97% from the average daily volume of 325,802 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CMTG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Claros Mortgage Trust from $9.75 to $9.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Claros Mortgage Trust from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Claros Mortgage Trust from $8.50 to $9.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. BTIG Research began coverage on Claros Mortgage Trust in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Claros Mortgage Trust has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $9.38.

Claros Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 26.27, a current ratio of 26.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07. The stock has a market cap of $1.19 billion, a PE ratio of -13.84 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.44 and a 200 day moving average of $9.23.

Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.04. Claros Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 1.51% and a negative net margin of 28.16%. The firm had revenue of $58.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.64 million. Equities analysts predict that Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Claros Mortgage Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Claros Mortgage Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -161.29%.

Insider Transactions at Claros Mortgage Trust

In other news, CEO Richard Mack purchased 116,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.18 per share, for a total transaction of $832,880.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,551,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,322,304.54. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director W Edward Walter acquired 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $7.21 per share, with a total value of $50,470.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 13,760 shares in the company, valued at $99,209.60. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard Mack acquired 116,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.18 per share, for a total transaction of $832,880.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,551,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,322,304.54. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 193,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,140. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Claros Mortgage Trust

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMTG. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 11,644.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,609,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,122,000 after acquiring an additional 14,484,684 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Claros Mortgage Trust by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,425,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,730,000 after buying an additional 55,256 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Claros Mortgage Trust by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 408,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,278,000 after buying an additional 36,911 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Claros Mortgage Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $121,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Claros Mortgage Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $140,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.