Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG) saw strong 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, CFO Mike Mcgillis acquired 24,115 shares of Claros Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $3.30 per share, for a total transaction of $79,579.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard Mack acquired 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $3.19 per share, with a total value of $366,850.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,564,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,182,289.39. This trade represents a 4.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CMTG. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Claros Mortgage Trust from $4.00 to $2.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.31.

Claros Mortgage Trust Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $553.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.50 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $5.48. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $60.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.07 million. Claros Mortgage Trust had a positive return on equity of 4.72% and a negative net margin of 89.07%. As a group, research analysts predict that Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Claros Mortgage Trust

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

About Claros Mortgage Trust

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.