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

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. (NYSE:CMTG) saw strong trading volume on Friday following insider buying activity. 806,074 shares changed hands during mid-day 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, CEO Richard Mack purchased 25,000 shares of Claros Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $3.38 per share, for a total transaction of $84,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,589,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,754,135.78. This trade represents a 0.97 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mike Mcgillis purchased 24,115 shares of Claros Mortgage Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $3.30 per share, with a total value of $79,579.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 475,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,570,618.50. The trade was a 5.34 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In other news, CEO Richard Mack acquired 115,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $3.19 per share, for a total transaction of $366,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,564,981 shares in the company, valued at $8,182,289.39. This represents a 4.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMTG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $8.00 to $3.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $4.00 to $2.50 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Claros Mortgage Trust from $6.00 to $5.25 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Claros Mortgage Trust currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.31.

Claros Mortgage Trust Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $3.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $556.76 million, a PE ratio of -2.51 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 20.68 and a current ratio of 25.67.

Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $60.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.07 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. will post 0.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Claros Mortgage Trust

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Claros Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Claros Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in Claros Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in Claros Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Claros Mortgage Trust in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 89.53% of the company’s stock.

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.