Investors Buy Large Volume of Arbor Realty Trust Call Options (NYSE:ABR)

Key Points

• Options activity surged: Investors purchased 3,976 Arbor Realty Trust call options, approximately 65% above the average volume of 2,410 contracts.
• Analyst sentiment remains negative: The stock carries a consensus “Reduce” rating, with three Hold and three Sell ratings and an average price target of $6.00.
• Shares and dividend profile show significant risk: ABR fell to $3.71, near its 52-week low, while its $0.68 annualized dividend implies an 18.3% yield and a payout ratio exceeding 970%.

Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 3,976 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 65% compared to the average volume of 2,410 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Arbor Realty Trust from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Arbor Realty Trust from $5.50 to $5.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Arbor Realty Trust from $5.50 to $5.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Arbor Realty Trust in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised Arbor Realty Trust from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $6.00.

Arbor Realty Trust Stock Performance

Arbor Realty Trust stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $3.71. 3,799,376 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,175,190. Arbor Realty Trust has a 52-week low of $3.63 and a 52-week high of $12.57. The stock has a market cap of $691.39 million, a P/E ratio of 53.07 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 478.85 and a current ratio of 478.85. The firm's 50 day moving average is $4.89 and its 200 day moving average is $5.84.

Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $117.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.75 million. Arbor Realty Trust had a net margin of 6.24% and a return on equity of 7.38%. Analysts predict that Arbor Realty Trust will post 0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arbor Realty Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Arbor Realty Trust's dividend payout ratio is 971.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William Green acquired 25,951 shares of Arbor Realty Trust stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.07 per share, for a total transaction of $131,571.57. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 231,369 shares in the company, valued at $1,173,040.83. This represents a 12.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Arbor Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Arbor Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at $143,448,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Arbor Realty Trust during the second quarter worth about $7,702,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arbor Realty Trust by 2.0% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 951,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,334,000 after buying an additional 18,529 shares in the last quarter. Miller Value Partners LLC acquired a new position in Arbor Realty Trust during the second quarter worth about $3,312,000. Finally, Odyssean LLC grew its position in Arbor Realty Trust by 227.4% during the second quarter. Odyssean LLC now owns 570,598 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,093,000 after buying an additional 396,292 shares during the period. 57.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arbor Realty Trust Company Profile

Arbor Realty Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust that specializes in financing and investing in commercial real estate. The company focuses primarily on the multifamily housing sector, providing capital to property owners, operators and developers through a range of lending and investment programs.

Its business activities include originating bridge and structured loans, acquiring or investing in mortgage-related assets, and providing mezzanine loans and preferred equity investments.

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