Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE:LFT) Short Interest Update

Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE:LFT – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 80,400 shares, a drop of 29.3% from the March 31st total of 113,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 147,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

LFT stock opened at $2.65 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.38 million, a PE ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 1.25. Lument Finance Trust has a 12 month low of $2.61 and a 12 month high of $4.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.79, a current ratio of 3.09 and a quick ratio of 3.09.

Lument Finance Trust (NYSE:LFT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 15th. The technology company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.01. Lument Finance Trust had a net margin of 27.07% and a return on equity of 9.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lument Finance Trust will post 0.37 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 31st were given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 30th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 9.06%. Lument Finance Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.00%.

In related news, CEO James Peter Flynn purchased 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 21st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $2.82 per share, for a total transaction of $38,070.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James Christopher Hunt acquired 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2.79 per share, for a total transaction of $41,850.00. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 35,500 shares of company stock worth $99,690. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LFT. KG&L Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lument Finance Trust during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Deltec Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lument Finance Trust by 140.7% during the first quarter. Deltec Asset Management LLC now owns 827,430 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after buying an additional 483,703 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lument Finance Trust by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 172,876 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 5,260 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lument Finance Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Morling Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lument Finance Trust during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.16% of the company’s stock.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of Lument Finance Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 12th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Lument Finance Trust from $4.50 to $3.75 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 17th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered shares of Lument Finance Trust from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $4.35.

About Lument Finance Trust (Get Rating)

Lument Finance Trust, Inc, a real estate investment trust, focuses on investing in, financing, and managing a portfolio of commercial real estate (CRE) debt investments in the United States. The company primarily invests in transitional floating rate commercial mortgage loans on middle market multi-family assets; and other CRE -related investments, including mezzanine loans, preferred equity, commercial mortgage-backed securities, fixed rate loans, construction loans, and other CRE debt instruments.

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