Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG) Short Interest Update

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG) experienced a significant drop in its short interest during February. As of February 15th, the short interest stood at 3,230,000 shares, reflecting a 21.0% decrease from the 4,090,000 shares reported on January 31st. With the average trading volume of 560,600 shares, the current short-interest ratio is approximately 5.8 days, indicating that about 2.9% of the company's shares are currently sold short.

Institutional Investors Influence on Claros Mortgage Trust

In recent months, institutional investors and hedge funds have made adjustments to their holdings of Claros Mortgage Trust shares. For instance, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake valued at $43,000 during the fourth quarter. Similarly, Townsquare Capital LLC, BNP Paribas Financial Markets, and Squarepoint Ops LLC each purchased positions valued at $46,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC was also active, acquiring shares valued at $47,000. Notably, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own about 89.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Offer Insights

Several analysts from various firms have recently issued their ratings and forecasts for Claros Mortgage Trust. Wells Fargo & Company has lowered its price target from $8.00 to $3.00, categorizing the stock as 'underweight.' On the other hand, UBS Group revised its target down from $6.00 to $5.25 while maintaining a 'buy' rating. Moreover, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has adjusted their price target from $4.00 to $2.50, rating the stock as 'underperform.' Currently, out of six analysts, two have rated the stock as a sell, three as hold, and one as buy. According to MarketBeat, the stock holds an average rating of 'Hold' with a target price of $4.31.

Performance of Claros Mortgage Trust

On a recent trading day, NYSE CMTG saw an increase of $0.08, with shares trading at $2.29. A total of 1,850,453 shares changed hands, compared to its average volume of 419,147. The stock has fluctuated within a 12-month range, hitting a low of $2.16 and a high of $10.15. The firm’s fifty-day simple moving average is noted at $3.50, while the 200-day average stands at $5.73. The company boasts a market capitalization of $318.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.44, and a beta of 1.63. Furthermore, Claros Mortgage Trust 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 recently reported its quarterly earnings on February 19th, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.15, which exceeded analyst expectations of $0.12. The company recorded a positive return on equity of 4.72%, despite a negative net margin of 89.07%. Revenue for the quarter amounted to $60.23 million, surpassing the consensus estimate of $58.07 million. Analysts forecast that Claros Mortgage Trust will achieve an EPS of 0.27 for the current fiscal year.

About Claros Mortgage Trust

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) focusing on originating senior and subordinate loans for transitional commercial real estate assets in the United States. By electing to be taxed as a REIT, the company avoids corporate income tax on the portion of its net income distributed to its shareholders.

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