Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE:LFT) Shares Shorted: Short Interest Down 92.5% in September

Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE:LFT) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 14,059 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Lument Finance Trust Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:LFT traded up $0.09 on Friday, hitting $5.26. 21,604 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,329. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $6.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $9.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.11, a current ratio of 5.98 and a quick ratio of 5.98. Lument Finance Trust has a 52 week low of $5.15 and a 52 week high of $21.30. The company has a market cap of $27.61 million, a P/E ratio of -1.46 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Lument Finance Trust Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.4922 dividend. This is a positive change from Lument Finance Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 37.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Lument Finance Trust in a research note on Monday, September 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Sell”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lument Finance Trust by 4,362.3% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,133 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 21,637 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Lument Finance Trust during the second quarter worth $71,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Lument Finance Trust during the first quarter worth $180,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP increased its holdings in Lument Finance Trust by 957.6% during the second quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 182,226 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 164,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Lument Finance Trust during the second quarter worth $344,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.45% of the company’s stock.

About Lument Finance Trust

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.