AFC Gamma, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCG) Short Interest Up 34.8% in December

AFC Gamma, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCG - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 646,100 shares, an increase of 34.8% from the December 15th total of 479,400 shares. Currently, 3.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 174,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AFCG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Alliance Global Partners initiated coverage on AFC Gamma in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of AFC Gamma to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.67.

AFC Gamma Price Performance

AFCG stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Thursday, hitting $8.44. 98,440 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 185,774. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.72. AFC Gamma has a 52 week low of $8.06 and a 52 week high of $13.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 3.92 and a current ratio of 3.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10 and a beta of 1.05.

AFC Gamma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 15.64%. AFC Gamma's dividend payout ratio is currently 330.00%.

Institutional Trading of AFC Gamma

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AFC Gamma by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 519,610 shares of the company's stock worth $5,305,000 after acquiring an additional 85,655 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in AFC Gamma by 4.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 50,403 shares of the company's stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of AFC Gamma by 2.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 376,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,968,000 after buying an additional 10,320 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of AFC Gamma by 257.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 22,567 shares of the company's stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 16,245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AFC Gamma by 57.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,225 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 8,877 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.53% of the company's stock.

About AFC Gamma

AFC Gamma, Inc originates, structures, underwrites, and invests in senior secured loans, and other various commercial real estate loans and debt securities for established companies operating in the cannabis industry. It primarily originates loans structured as senior loans secured by real estate, equipment, and licenses and/or other assets of the loan parties to the extent permitted by applicable laws and the regulations governing such loan parties.