Short Interest in AFC Gamma, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCG) Expands By 8.3%

AFC Gamma, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCG) saw a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 488,800 shares, an increase of 8.3% from the September 15th total of 451,200 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 205,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new stake in AFC Gamma during the 1st quarter worth $7,001,000. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in AFC Gamma by 11.6% during the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 640,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,931,000 after acquiring an additional 66,702 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in AFC Gamma by 91.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 60,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $621,000 after acquiring an additional 28,998 shares in the last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP acquired a new stake in AFC Gamma in the 1st quarter valued at about $319,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in AFC Gamma by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 279,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,519,000 after purchasing an additional 24,506 shares in the last quarter. 26.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of AFC Gamma in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Compass Point raised AFC Gamma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Seaport Res Ptn raised AFC Gamma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on AFC Gamma from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AFC Gamma has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

AFC Gamma Stock Up 3.2 %

AFCG stock opened at $10.03 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 4.77 and a quick ratio of 4.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $10.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.97. AFC Gamma has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $13.35. The company has a market capitalization of $207.29 million, a P/E ratio of 19.29 and a beta of 1.05.

AFC Gamma (NASDAQ:AFCG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $19.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.48 million. AFC Gamma had a net margin of 21.97% and a return on equity of 12.41%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AFC Gamma will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

AFC Gamma Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 13.16%. AFC Gamma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 253.85%.

AFC Gamma Company Profile

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.