Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG – Get Free Report) and NexPoint Real Estate Finance (NYSE:NREF – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.
Volatility & Risk
Claros Mortgage Trust has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NexPoint Real Estate Finance has a beta of 1.1, suggesting that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
89.5% of Claros Mortgage Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.8% of NexPoint Real Estate Finance shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.6% of Claros Mortgage Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 59.9% of NexPoint Real Estate Finance shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Claros Mortgage Trust | $69.81 million | 2.97 | -$489.07 million | ($3.83) | -0.38 |
| NexPoint Real Estate Finance | $89.95 million | 3.63 | $105.10 million | $2.37 | 7.32 |
NexPoint 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 NexPoint Real Estate Finance, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Claros Mortgage Trust and NexPoint 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 |
| NexPoint Real Estate Finance | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.75 |
Claros Mortgage Trust presently has a consensus price target of $2.22, indicating a potential upside of 50.79%. NexPoint Real Estate Finance has a consensus price target of $16.75, indicating a potential downside of 3.40%. Given Claros Mortgage Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Claros Mortgage Trust is more favorable than NexPoint Real Estate Finance.
Profitability
This table compares Claros Mortgage Trust and NexPoint Real Estate Finance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Claros Mortgage Trust | -354.13% | -19.70% | -6.52% |
| NexPoint Real Estate Finance | 107.93% | 12.72% | 0.92% |
Dividends
Claros Mortgage Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 27.2%. NexPoint Real Estate Finance pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.5%. Claros Mortgage Trust pays out -10.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NexPoint Real Estate Finance pays out 84.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Claros Mortgage Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Summary
NexPoint Real Estate Finance beats Claros Mortgage Trust on 10 of the 15 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 NexPoint Real Estate Finance
NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc. operates as a commercial mortgage real estate investment trust in the United States. It focuses on originating, structuring, and investing in first-lien mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, preferred equity, convertible notes, multifamily properties, and common equity investments, as well as multifamily and single-family rental commercial mortgage-backed securities securitizations, multifamily structured credit risk notes, and mortgage-backed securities or target assets. The company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT) and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. NexPoint Real Estate Finance, Inc. was incorporated in 2019 and is based in Dallas, Texas.
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