Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) Trading 4.1% Higher - Here's What Happened

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 4.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $4.18 and last traded at $4.19. 678,626 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 30% from the average session volume of 521,864 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CMTG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Claros Mortgage Trust from $4.00 to $2.50 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Claros Mortgage Trust from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Claros Mortgage Trust from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.31.

Claros Mortgage Trust Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $3.30 and a 200-day moving average of $5.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 20.68 and a current ratio of 25.67. The stock has a market cap of $581.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.63 and a beta of 1.62.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mike Mcgillis acquired 24,115 shares of Claros Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.30 per share, for a total transaction of $79,579.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 475,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,570,618.50. This trade represents a 5.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard Mack bought 115,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $3.19 per share, for a total transaction of $366,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,564,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,182,289.39. This trade represents a 4.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 169,115 shares of company stock valued at $547,930 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Claros Mortgage Trust

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CMTG. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in Claros Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Claros Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in Claros Mortgage Trust during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Claros Mortgage Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.53% of the company's stock.

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.