Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG – Get Free Report) and Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings and risk.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Claros Mortgage Trust and Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Claros Mortgage Trust | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.25 |
| Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2.17 |
Claros Mortgage Trust currently has a consensus target price of $2.22, suggesting a potential upside of 35.99%. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a consensus target price of $11.33, suggesting a potential upside of 65.69%. Given Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance is more favorable than Claros Mortgage Trust.
Profitability
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Claros Mortgage Trust | -354.13% | -19.70% | -6.52% |
| Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance | 55.49% | 7.39% | 1.58% |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
89.5% of Claros Mortgage Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.4% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Claros Mortgage Trust shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Claros Mortgage Trust and Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Claros Mortgage Trust | $187.83 million | 1.22 | -$489.07 million | ($3.83) | -0.43 |
| Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance | $271.59 million | 3.24 | $126.72 million | $0.80 | 8.55 |
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has higher revenue and earnings than Claros Mortgage Trust. Claros Mortgage Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
Claros Mortgage Trust has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance has a beta of 1.36, suggesting that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance beats Claros Mortgage Trust on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
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. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
About Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance
Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe. It is qualified as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code. As a REIT, it would not be subject to federal income taxes, if the company distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its stockholders. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is based in New York, New York.
Receive News & Ratings for Claros Mortgage Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Claros Mortgage Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
