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

Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE:LFT) was the recipient of a significant 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. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 14,059 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lument Finance Trust

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Susquehanna International Group LLP lifted its stake in Lument Finance Trust by 957.6% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 182,226 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $168,000 after purchasing an additional 164,996 shares in the last quarter. Melia Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lument Finance Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,308,000. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Lument Finance Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $71,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Lument Finance Trust during the second quarter worth approximately $344,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Lument Finance Trust during the first quarter worth $180,000. 19.45% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lument Finance Trust Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:LFT traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $5.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,724. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.11, a current ratio of 5.98 and a quick ratio of 5.98. The company has a market capitalization of $27.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.44 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $6.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.89. Lument Finance Trust has a 52 week low of $5.15 and a 52 week high of $21.30.

Lument Finance Trust (NYSE:LFT) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of ($13.37) million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a $0.4922 dividend. This represents a $1.97 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 37.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This is a positive change from Lument Finance Trust’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Sell”.

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.