Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) Sees Strong Trading Volume After Insider Buying Activity

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. 806,074 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 65% from the previous session’s volume of 489,257 shares.The stock last traded at $3.98 and had previously closed at $3.61.

Specifically, CEO Richard Mack acquired 25,000 shares of Claros Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.38 per share, with a total value of $84,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,589,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,754,135.78. This represents a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mike Mcgillis acquired 24,115 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.30 per share, for a total transaction of $79,579.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 475,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,570,618.50. The trade was a 5.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In other Claros Mortgage Trust news, CEO Richard Mack purchased 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $3.19 per share, for a total transaction of $366,850.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,564,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,182,289.39. This represents a 4.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Claros Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.31.

Claros Mortgage Trust Trading Up 10.7 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.45. The stock has a market cap of $556.76 million, a P/E ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 20.68, a current ratio of 25.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

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

Institutional Trading of Claros Mortgage Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter worth $46,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Claros Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 89.53% of the stock is 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.