Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CMTG. UBS Group initiated coverage on Claros Mortgage Trust in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $2.75 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $2.50 to $2.25 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Sell” and an average price target of $2.50.

Claros Mortgage Trust Price Performance

Shares of Claros Mortgage Trust stock opened at $1.78 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.45. Claros Mortgage Trust has a 12-month low of $1.73 and a 12-month high of $3.99. The firm has a market cap of $251.83 million, a PE ratio of -0.47 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 21.44, a current ratio of 21.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81.

Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.63) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $30.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.55 million. Claros Mortgage Trust had a negative net margin of 354.13% and a negative return on equity of 19.70%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Claros Mortgage Trust will post -1.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Claros Mortgage Trust by 9.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 36,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 3,163 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 75.8% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 8,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 3,854 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 26,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 53.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 17,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 5,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 71,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 6,655 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

About Claros Mortgage Trust

Claros Mortgage Trust is a specialty finance company structured as a real estate investment trust that acquires and manages a portfolio of newly originated, conventional residential mortgage loans guaranteed or insured by U.S. government‐sponsored enterprises. The company concentrates on Agency collateral, including loans backed by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, aiming to generate current income while preserving capital through high‐quality, credit‐enhanced assets.

Under an external management agreement with Claros Mortgage Capital Advisors LLC, the firm leverages a seasoned team to source, underwrite and service mortgage assets.