Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (NASDAQ:REFI) posted its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance had a net margin of 54.57% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The business had revenue of $13.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.95 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance’s conference call:

• Distributable earnings were $0.49 per fully diluted share, above the $0.47 quarterly dividend; the company said it has now paid that dividend for 18 consecutive quarters.
• The portfolio totaled $527.7 million across 28 borrowers, with a 14.8% weighted-average yield to maturity. Floating-rate loans make up 64% of the portfolio, and management estimates each 25-basis-point rate increase would add about $0.015 per share to quarterly distributable earnings.
• The proposed merger with LIEN, which remains subject to SEC review and stockholder approvals, is now expected to close in 2027. Management cited potential benefits from greater scale and a broader investment mandate, while noting those benefits are not assured.
• Liquidity is tight: the company reported about $15.2 million available on its revolving facility and approximately $12 million of total liquidity after estimated liabilities and anticipated fundings, and expects originations to slow in the fourth quarter.
• Non-accruals were 3.1% of the portfolio, down from 3.7% at the prior quarter-end mainly because the portfolio grew; the amount of non-accruals was unchanged. Adjusted book value per share slipped to $14.12 from $14.15.

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance Trading Up 3.4%

NASDAQ:REFI traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $9.16. 15,495 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 166,691. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance has a 52-week low of $8.59 and a 52-week high of $13.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $9.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $11.02. The company has a market cap of $234.68 million, a P/E ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 0.28.

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.47 dividend. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 20.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance’s payout ratio is presently 137.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Atlantic Securities set a $16.00 target price on Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance

In other news, CEO Peter Sack bought 3,500 shares of Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.45 per share, with a total value of $36,575.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 123,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,289,070.20. The trade was a 2.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Anthony Cappell bought 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $10.40 per share, for a total transaction of $468,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 466,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,853,742.40. This represents a 10.67% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders bought 122,856 shares of company stock valued at $1,287,094 over the last quarter. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance Company Profile

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance, Inc (NASDAQ: REFI) is a specialty finance company organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The company focuses on originating, acquiring, and managing commercial real estate loans and other credit investments, with an emphasis on opportunities in the cannabis industry.

Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance primarily provides senior secured loans to state-licensed cannabis operators, cultivators, processors, dispensaries, and related businesses.