AFC Gamma, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCG) Short Interest Up 5.6% in March

AFC Gamma, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCG) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 626,500 shares, an increase of 5.6% from the March 15th total of 593,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 125,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days. Currently, 4.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AFC Gamma

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in AFC Gamma by 0.6% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 131,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 771 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in AFC Gamma by 8.6% in the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 787 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. grew its stake in AFC Gamma by 12.5% in the first quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 7,418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of AFC Gamma by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of AFC Gamma by 18.7% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.53% of the company’s stock.

AFC Gamma Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of AFCG stock opened at $11.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 4.87 and a current ratio of 4.87. AFC Gamma has a fifty-two week low of $9.91 and a fifty-two week high of $14.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.72. The company has a market cap of $238.12 million, a P/E ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 1.05.

AFC Gamma (NASDAQ:AFCG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. AFC Gamma had a return on equity of 12.10% and a net margin of 30.38%. The firm had revenue of $15.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AFC Gamma will post 1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

AFC Gamma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 16.67%. AFC Gamma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 188.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, TheStreet upgraded AFC Gamma from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 19th.

About AFC Gamma

AFC Gamma, Inc originates, structures, underwrites, and invests in senior secured loans, and other various commercial real estate loans and debt securities for established companies operating in the cannabis industry. It primarily originates loans structured as senior loans secured by real estate, equipment, and licenses and/or other assets of the loan parties to the extent permitted by applicable laws and the regulations governing such loan parties.