Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE:LFT) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE:LFT - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 72,500 shares, an increase of 26.1% from the March 31st total of 57,500 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 105,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Lument Finance Trust Stock Performance

NYSE LFT traded up $0.02 on Friday, reaching $2.68. The stock had a trading volume of 91,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 110,305. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.39, a current ratio of 6.29 and a quick ratio of 6.29. The company has a market cap of $140.19 million, a P/E ratio of 7.44 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.62. Lument Finance Trust has a 1-year low of $2.22 and a 1-year high of $2.84.

Lument Finance Trust (NYSE:LFT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The technology company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.10. Lument Finance Trust had a net margin of 18.19% and a return on equity of 14.41%. The business had revenue of $9.55 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.89 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lument Finance Trust will post 0.42 EPS for the current year.

Lument Finance Trust Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.94%. Lument Finance Trust's dividend payout ratio is presently 91.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jones Trading reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Lument Finance Trust in a report on Tuesday, April 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lument Finance Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in Lument Finance Trust during the 4th quarter worth $160,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lument Finance Trust in the fourth quarter worth $148,000. Barclays PLC acquired a new position in Lument Finance Trust in the third quarter valued at about $120,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lument Finance Trust during the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lument Finance Trust by 79.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 61,179 shares of the technology company's stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 27,037 shares in the last quarter. 19.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lument Finance Trust

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 CRE 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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