Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI) Cut to “Strong Sell” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on REFI. Oppenheimer set a $14.00 target price on Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.00.

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance Trading Down 0.9%

REFI opened at $12.82 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $13.06 and a 200 day moving average of $13.78. The company has a market cap of $270.25 million, a PE ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 0.21. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has a 12 month low of $12.00 and a 12 month high of $16.29.

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 14.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is presently 111.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman John Mazarakis acquired 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $12.75 per share, for a total transaction of $102,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 416,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,311,739.25. This trade represents a 1.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter Sack bought 8,150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $12.43 per share, for a total transaction of $101,304.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,010,024.51. This represents a 11.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 51,150 shares of company stock worth $641,415. 8.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clayton Partners LLC purchased a new position in Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance in the third quarter worth $1,765,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 940,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,035,000 after purchasing an additional 19,227 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance by 123.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 47,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 26,458 shares during the last quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 809,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,353,000 after purchasing an additional 37,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance in the 3rd quarter worth about $136,000. Institutional investors own 25.48% of the company’s stock.

About Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a commercial real estate finance company in the United States. The company engages in originating, structuring, and investing in first mortgage loans and alternative structured financings secured by commercial real estate properties. Its portfolio primarily includes offers senior loans to state-licensed operators in the cannabis industry.