Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE:LFT) Stock Short Interest Declines 92.5%

Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE:LFT) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totaling 40,816 shares, a drop of 92.5% from the August 31st total of 542,428 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 14,059 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Lument Finance Trust Price Performance

Shares of Lument Finance Trust stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $5.19. 39,561 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,427. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.23 million, a PE ratio of -1.44 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $6.95 and a 200 day moving average of $9.89. Lument Finance Trust has a fifty-two week low of $5.15 and a fifty-two week high of $21.30. The company has a quick ratio of 5.98, a current ratio of 5.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.11.

Lument Finance Trust (NYSE:LFT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The technology company reported ($0.10) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.75). Lument Finance Trust had a positive return on equity of 0.86% and a negative net margin of 18.00%.The firm had revenue of ($13.37) million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.59 million.

Lument Finance Trust Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.4922 per share. This is a boost from Lument Finance Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $1.97 annualized dividend and a yield of 38.0%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lument Finance Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Lument Finance Trust by 957.6% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 182,226 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 164,996 shares during the last quarter. Melia Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lument Finance Trust during the second quarter worth about $1,308,000. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Lument Finance Trust during the second quarter worth about $71,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Lument Finance Trust during the second quarter worth about $344,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Lument Finance Trust during the first quarter worth about $180,000. 19.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Lument Finance Trust in a research note on Monday, September 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

Lument Finance Trust Company Profile

Lument Finance Trust, Inc (NYSE:LFT) is a real estate investment trust focused primarily on commercial real estate debt investments. The company generally targets loans and other credit investments secured by income-producing properties, with an emphasis on the multifamily housing sector.

Its investment activities may include transitional multifamily mortgage loans, commercial mortgage-backed securities and other real estate-related debt instruments. Through its relationship with the Lument platform, the company seeks to identify, underwrite and manage investments in commercial properties across the United States.

Lument Finance Trust was formerly known as Hunt Companies Finance Trust, Inc and adopted its current name in 2020.