AFC Gamma, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCG) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

AFC Gamma, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFCG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 488,800 shares, a growth of 8.3% from the September 15th total of 451,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 205,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days. Approximately 3.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AFC Gamma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AFC Gamma by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 18,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in AFC Gamma by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 640,617 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,931,000 after buying an additional 66,702 shares during the last quarter. Hartline Investment Corp purchased a new stake in AFC Gamma in the first quarter worth approximately $133,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in AFC Gamma by 9.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 279,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,519,000 after acquiring an additional 24,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of AFC Gamma by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 51,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 3,850 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded AFC Gamma to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Compass Point upgraded shares of AFC Gamma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on AFC Gamma from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of AFC Gamma in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AFC Gamma currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.00.

AFC Gamma Stock Performance

Shares of AFCG stock opened at $10.40 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 4.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. AFC Gamma has a 12 month low of $8.06 and a 12 month high of $13.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.94 million, a PE ratio of 20.00 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.95.

AFC Gamma (NASDAQ:AFCG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.05. AFC Gamma had a return on equity of 12.41% and a net margin of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $19.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.48 million. Analysts forecast that AFC Gamma will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AFC Gamma Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.69%. AFC Gamma’s payout ratio is currently 253.85%.

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.