Head to Head Comparison: Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) vs. Manhattan Bridge Capital (NASDAQ:LOAN)

Manhattan Bridge Capital (NASDAQ:LOAN) and Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Manhattan Bridge Capital and Claros Mortgage Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Manhattan Bridge Capital	58.61%	11.14%	7.60%
Claros Mortgage Trust	-371.29%	-20.86%	-7.06%

Dividends

Manhattan Bridge Capital pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.5%. Claros Mortgage Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 23.6%. Manhattan Bridge Capital pays out 100.0% 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 pays out -10.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Manhattan Bridge Capital has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Claros Mortgage Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Manhattan Bridge Capital and Claros Mortgage Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Manhattan Bridge Capital	0	2	0	0	2.00
Claros Mortgage Trust	3	1	0	0	1.25

Claros Mortgage Trust has a consensus target price of $2.08, suggesting a potential upside of 22.91%. Given Claros Mortgage Trust’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Claros Mortgage Trust is more favorable than Manhattan Bridge Capital.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

21.8% of Manhattan Bridge Capital shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.5% of Claros Mortgage Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 24.6% of Manhattan Bridge Capital shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Claros Mortgage Trust shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Manhattan Bridge Capital has a beta of 0.23, meaning that its share price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Claros Mortgage Trust has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Manhattan Bridge Capital and Claros Mortgage Trust”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Manhattan Bridge Capital	$6.67 million	5.73	$5.11 million	$0.42	8.02
Claros Mortgage Trust	$40.01 million	5.98	-$489.07 million	($3.66)	-0.46

Manhattan Bridge Capital has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Claros Mortgage Trust. Claros Mortgage Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Manhattan Bridge Capital, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Manhattan Bridge Capital beats Claros Mortgage Trust on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Manhattan Bridge Capital

Manhattan Bridge Capital, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOAN) is a self-managed real estate investment trust that originates, services and manages loans secured by first mortgages on real property. The company primarily provides short-term, interest-only financing to real estate investors and owners who may require capital for property acquisitions, renovations, construction or other development-related needs. Its loan portfolio is focused mainly on residential and commercial properties in the New York metropolitan area, including New York City and Long Island.

About Claros Mortgage Trust

Claros Mortgage Trust, Inc. is a real estate investment trust focused on originating, acquiring and managing commercial real estate debt investments. The company primarily provides financing to owners and investors of commercial properties, with an emphasis on transitional assets that may require renovation, repositioning or lease-up before reaching stabilized operations. Its investment portfolio has primarily consisted of senior and subordinate mortgage loans secured by commercial real estate, including multifamily, office, hotel, retail, industrial and mixed-use properties.