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

Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE:LFT) saw a large drop in short interest in 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. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 14,059 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lument Finance Trust

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Melia Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Lument Finance Trust in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,308,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lument Finance Trust by 4,362.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,133 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 21,637 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP raised its stake 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 worth $168,000 after buying an additional 164,996 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lument Finance Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $344,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lument Finance Trust during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. 19.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lument Finance Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LFT traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $5.19. 39,561 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,427. The firm has a market cap of $27.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.44 and a beta of 0.57. Lument Finance Trust has a twelve month low of $5.15 and a twelve month high of $21.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.89. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The technology company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.65 by ($0.75). Lument Finance Trust had a negative net margin of 18.00% and a positive return on equity of 0.86%. The firm had revenue of ($13.37) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.59 million.

Lument Finance Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $0.4922 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 38.0%. This is an increase from Lument Finance Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st.

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.