Finance
Is Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (LFT) the Cheapest Penny Stock to Buy Right Now?
In this article, we will look at the 8 Cheap Penny Stocks to Buy Right Now. Let’s look at where Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (LFT) stands against other cheap penny stocks.
The economy of the United States has stabilized, with inflation continuously cooling down and the risk of recession overruled. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on September 18, slashing them by half a point as a start to its first easing cycle in four years. The Federal Reserve statement said:
“The Committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance.”
However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced on September 30 that the recent aggressive half-percentage point interest rate cuts should not be interpreted as a sign that future rate cuts would also be as aggressive. Instead, they are likely to be smaller. Talking to the National Association for Business Economics, he said:
“Looking forward, if the economy evolves broadly as expected, policy will move over time toward a more neutral stance. But we are not on any preset course. The risks are two-sided, and we will continue to make our decisions meeting by meeting.”
Powell expressed confidence in the country’s economic strength, claiming that inflation is expected to continue cooling. He also indicated that if the economic data shows consistency in the coming days, two more rate cuts would likely materialize in 2024. These, however, are expected to come in smaller quarter percentage point increments. This trend goes against market expectations for more aggressive cuts and easing.
During a Q&A session after his speech in Nashville, Tennessee, he said that:
“This is not a committee that feels like it’s in a hurry to cut rates quickly. If the economy performs as expected, that would mean two more rate cuts this year, a total of 50 [basis points] more.”
Sustainable Growth Expected in Small Caps Amidst Market Shifts
On July 26, Nathan Moser, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at Impax Asset Management, discussed some long-term possibilities for small-cap stocks on Schwab Network. Talking about the recent changes in small stocks, he discussed the positive shift and noted that the recent rise in small caps appears more sustainable after years of struggle. This trend is primarily driven by strong inflows into ETFs and passive investment vehicles.
Despite short-term volatility, Mooser believes the market’s current move could last for years. He thus encouraged buying on market dips, while highlighting the need to focus on profitable, high-quality companies due to the potential risks typically associated with lower-quality stocks in small caps.
Our Methodology
We first consulted stock screeners from Finviz and Yahoo Finance to create an initial list of 15 publicly traded penny stocks with forward P/E ratios of less than 15 as of October 1, 2024. From this list, we selected the 8 stocks with the highest number of hedge funds holders as of Q2 2024, and used that as our ranking metric. The stocks we identified are profitable, have positive EPS growth, and are expected to remain profitable in the future as well.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
8 Cheap Penny Stocks to Buy Right Now
Lument Finance Trust, Inc. (NYSE:LFT)
Share Price: $2.52
Forward P/E: 6.33
EPS Growth This Year: 53.80%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 5
Lument Finance Trust (NYSE:LFT) is a real estate investment trust that invests in, originates, finances, and manages a commercial real estate debt investment portfolio. Its primary focus is transitional floating-rate CRE mortgage loans while emphasizing middle-market multifamily assets. It also invests in other CRE-related investments, including preferred equity, mezzanine loans, commercial mortgage-backed securities, construction loans, fixed-rate loans, and other CRE debt instruments.
The company’s mortgage loan investment portfolio comprises around 88 senior secured floating rate loans with around $1.4 billion in aggregate unpaid principal balance. Lument Investment Management, LLC externally manages the company. Lument Finance Trust (NYSE:LFT) holds a competitive advantage due to its expertise in the origination, underwriting, and active asset management of multifamily mortgage investments. It also boasts strong sponsorships from the broader Lument and ORIX platforms, positioning it as a value proposition in today’s public markets. Despite the current challenging environment, the company raised its common dividend by $0.01 in June. This represents a 14% sequential increase over Q1.
It also fully deployed its capital into strong, predominantly multifamily credits by the end of 2023. Since then, it has focused on actively managing its loan investment portfolio.
The company has differentiated itself from its market peers by focusing on middle-market multifamily credit, allowing it to deliver a stable and sustainable dividend to its shareholders and preserve shareholder capital. According to the company, multifamily, particularly middle-market multifamily, is expected to remain a strong-performing asset class in the long term despite a modest softening of multifamily fundamentals.
Lument Finance (NYSE:LFT) continually maintains a strong liquidity position, with around $65 million in unrestricted cash on its balance sheet. Persistent elevated short-term rates have allowed the company to produce attractive returns on its cash balance. Intentionally adopting a defensive cash position, Lument Finance (NYSE:LFT) has gained the flexibility to manage the more challenging credits in its portfolio.
Overall, LFT ranks sixth among the 8 cheap penny stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential of LFT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LFT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA ‘Has Become A Wasteland’.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Finance
Southport takes ‘each day at a time’ as state investigation continues
Southport communities and families continue to seek for recreational activities as state investigators keep probing into the city parks and recreation department.
It’s been more than two weeks since the State Bureau of Investigation began its investigation into Southport’s Parks and Recreation Department and the city remains unsure as to what will happen after the investigation.
Southport Police Chief Todd Coring on March 11 requested the State Bureau of Investigation to assist with investigating a financial discrepancy within the city, SBI Public Information Director Chad Flowers said.
At 4:45 p.m. on March 11, the city of Southport published a news release announcing four unnamed employees from its parks and recreation department were placed on paid administrative leave due to an “appearance of financial irregularities.” The announcement also stated parks and recreation programs and facilities were on shutdown.
The “appearance” of financial irregularities was discovered after a forensic accounting investigation, according to the release.
Though approximately 13 children participated in the parks and recreation programs, Public Information Officer ChyAnn Ketchum said, the community used the facilities for events, activities, sports and classes.
Asked how often the facilities were used by the community, Ketchum was unable to provide a response.
“We are still working on gathering data, so I am not able to provide even an estimate right now,” Ketchum said.
What has happened since the shutdown?
Program Director Maureen “Cookie” Moore resigned March 12, Ketchum confirmed.
The city’s parks and recreation before and after-school programs have been suspended indefinitely and all parks and recreation facilities and buildings remain closed, and events cancelled until further notice.
The city’s community relations department has tried to help by temporarily taking over reservations of the Jaycee Building to honor existing reservations and hosting an Easter egg hunt.
Since the parks and recreation department matter has been turned to the SBI for further review, agents with the SBI’s coastal division are actively working to handle the case, Flowers previously told the StarNews.
What’s next for the case and the city of Southport?
The case remains ongoing and active, Flowers said. No new information is being released at this time.
“Financial crimes cases normally take longer due to the number of documents and records involved,” Flowers said.
When it comes to how the city will move forward after the investigation closes, Ketchum is unsure.
“Because it is still an active investigation, we have to take each day at a time,” Ketchum said.
STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the area’s latest Brunswick County news by signing up for the Brunswick Today newsletter and following us on Facebook and Instagram.
Savanna Tenenoff covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at stenenoff@usatodayco.com.
Finance
State to appoint fiscal monitor over NOLA-PS, citing ‘significant’ financial management issues
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Louisiana’s Department of Education has informed the Orleans Parish public school district that it will install a monitor to oversee its financial management, citing a pattern of “significant deficiencies” over the past two years.
State superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley delivered the news in a letter sent Friday (March 27) to NOLA-PS superintendent Dr. Fateama Fulmore.
“Due to repeated accounting miscalculations within the Orleans Parish School System (NOLA-PS), schools have faced multiple years of financial uncertainty,” Brumley wrote. “This letter serves as formal notice that, as a result of these errors, the Louisiana Department of Education will appoint a fiscal risk monitor for your school system.
“The purpose of this appointment is to provide enhanced oversight of tax revenue accounting and reporting by NOLA-PS. This will include special engagement conducted by an independent certified public accountant over the next year.”
NOLA-PS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox 8.
Brumley cited a list of alleged “deficiencies” by the New Orleans school district, including:
- Failure to adhere to fundamental accounting principles
- Classification in the LDOE Fiscal Risk Assessment “Monitor” category, reflecting a high level of concern, including designation under a Critical Situation during the fiscal year
- Negative impacts on budgeting decisions for school systems across the state
- Provision of inaccurate financial information to NOLA-PS schools
- Potential violation of state law due to failure to provide accurate financial data to LDOE
The appointed monitor will be tasked with reviewing the financial practices of the district, ensuring it takes corrective measures, and reporting back to the LDOE about changes made and ongoing risks. It is believed to be the first state intervention into the Orleans Parish school system since it was restructured in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Nyesha Veal has served as the chief financial officer for NOLA-PS since 2024. Brumley’s letter did not mention her by name, but alleged a pattern of accounting errors and financial mismanagement over the past two years, including the recent underreporting of approximately $13 million in sales tax revenue in the last annual financial report.
Brumley wrote that the LDOE was notified of this problem by “school leaders,” and that the NOLA-PS CFO was questions about the disparity.
“During that discussion, the CFO acknowledged that the STR data submitted to LDOE was incorrect and had been underreported by approximately $13 million. The CFO further indicated that the omission of June 2025 sales tax revenue from the AFR, as well as the delayed submission of tax data, had no impact.
“This assertion is incorrect. The omission and delay have had material consequences, including impacts on statewide funding calculations and local budget planning. This reflects a concerning lack of understanding regarding the importance of accurate and timely financial reporting by NOLA-PS. … This is not an isolated incident of concern within the financial management of the system that can be overlooked as a simple mistake. Instead, this is a repeated pattern and must be addressed immediately.”
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Finance
Car finance saga: Millions of motorists to find out how they will be compensated
Millions of motorists who were mis-sold a car loan will find out how they will be compensated, as the finance watchdog shares its final plans for an industry-wide scheme.
Final decisions on the long-awaited programme will be published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Monday afternoon.
The regulator set out draft plans last year but it is likely to make several changes after receiving more than 1,000 responses to its consultation.
Under the latest proposals, the scheme will cover car finance agreements taken out between April 6 2007 and November 1 2024.
The FCA estimated that around 14 million deals, or 44% of all those made since 2007, were unfair and therefore eligible for compensation.
Consumers were estimated to be compensated an average of £700 per agreement, but it will be more or less depending on individual cases.
This was expected to come at a total cost of £11 billion to the industry, including the total payouts and the operational costs of running the scheme.
Craig Tebbutt, a financial health expert for Equifax UK, said: “It has previously been estimated that average compensation levels could be in the region of £700 per agreement but the final details around the scale, scope and timelines are expected to be confirmed on Monday.
“However, there is nothing to stop consumers checking their paperwork now and getting their details ready in the meantime.”
He said research by the credit reporting firm found that “many consumers don’t know how to check their eligibility and expect the process to be a hassle, with old or missing paperwork being a real barrier”.
Equifax has launched a car finance checker within its new app that lets people see a list of their past agreements and copy the details, with motorists encouraged to send a complaint to their lender using a template on the FCA’s website if they think they’re eligible for a payout.
Lenders and car finance providers had been challenging the FCA’s proposals with some raising concerns that the expected amount of compensation is too high and does not accurately reflect what customers lost.
On the other side, some consumer groups and MPs have argued that many motorists will be short-changed under the current plans.
The FCA has already announced some changes that it is making to the process since the proposals were unveiled last year.
This includes giving lenders more time to contact motor finance customers from when the scheme is officially launched.
But it is also aiming to streamline the process by allowing those due redress to accept it immediately without waiting for a final determination.
It thinks that this means million of people would receive compensation in 2026.
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